Prisoner - English version
by blobo
Summary: After another failed attempt to bring her former teammate back to Konoha, Sakura is sent to help a village as a medical ninja, but she disappears. Months later still in the pursuit by his brother, Sasuke ends up finding Sakura in one of the old bases of Orochimaru however Sakura is different from what he remembered. UN
1. Enemy

**Notes:**

 _Hi guys, this is my first fanfic in English and my English isn't very good._

 _This fanfic is originally wrote in Portuguese._

 _Hope u like it_

Sakura stared at the door she had just passed.

In her blind run she ended up entering a dead end and now she had to accept her fate, but not without a fight to the end.

A willingness to run and hide filled her body, but she stood there staring with all her heart that she did not have the person who walked through the door and spread her chakra around.

Sakura kept her wrists up.

"If you came after information about Naruto, you lost your time, I prefer death than to surrender my friend." Sakura spat the words.

Itachi's expression remained the same as he approached.

"I didn't come for information about Kyuubi." He said without changing his voice.

"What you want?" She took a step back.

Itachi began to walk around her like an animal circling her prey and Sakura accompanied him, accompanying his dance.

"My sources said that you were personally trained by the Godaime." He said calmly.

"Are you going to kidnap me?" She narrowed her eyes.

Would they use it as bait to lure Naruto? Because she knew that if this were true, they would want a reward - an exchange perhaps - and as Hokage, her sensei couldn't risk losing Kyuubi just to rescue her.

Itachi stopped and Sakura stopped as well, the two of them stared at each other.

"My interests in relation to you have nothing to do with the village or the Kyuubi." Itachi said unbuttoning and resting his hand on the opening of the Akatsuki mantle. "I'm interested in your abilities."

Sakura frowned.

Was it almost unreal Itachi to say that, among all the ninjas what she could offer?

Before Sakura could think more about it, Itachi used his unusual speed to approach, standing within inches of her. Sakura felt her muscles crash and, even if she wanted to, she was sure she could not move.

That was it, she was going to die.

" I'll tell you a story and hope you can understand my situation." He said and raised his arm, touching her forehead with his middle finger and forefinger.

Itachi's red eyes swallowed her, creating in her mind a series of images telling his story.

The contact between the two lasted a few minutes, but it seemed like hours in Sakura's mind. As soon as Itachi freed her mind, Sakura automatically turned away, staring at the dark-haired man with a look of horror and shock.

"Why do you think I would believe what you showed me?"

"Because it's the truth of what happened and what's going to happen." Itachi said calmly.

Sakura looked away, in that moment she saw no need to follow Itachi's movements. The danger still emanated from him, but now other things were disturbed in her thoughts by the images and predictions that the Uchiha put in her mind.

In the midst of a dilemma, she did not trust her own legs to stand. Her head ached, she was mentally exhausted.

"I can't ... – she whispered to herself. – If I go with you, I'm going to lose my village, my family, my friends ..." her voice slowly died as she imagined how Naruto would feel when he discovered it. She looked at the Atatsuki member. "Sasuke would never forgive me." her voice faltered.

And she wasn't kidding, if Sasuke only suspected that Sakura had helped Itachi, he would kill her without thinking twice. It would be the worst kind of betrayal she could have with her former teammate.

Itachi deactivated his Sharingan, displaying the onyx eyes that for a long time pursued Sakura's thoughts. For Kami, he looked so much like his brother that it hurt.

"And if you do not help me, Sasuke will eventually die. " Itachi said.

Sakura held her breath for a moment, remembering the scene Itachi had shown in her mind. The bodies of the whole Uchiha clan covered by blood, blood that ran through Itachi's hand and dripped on the floor.

She saw a kid version of Sasuke in Itachi's memories, that way that he stared in shock and horror at the older brother he always admired.

Itachi approached her, Sakura kept in place allowing him to approach.

She just hoped to survive at the end of it.


	2. The reuinion

**Notes:**

 _Thanks for the reviews, hope u like this one too._

* * *

The sun hadn't yet risen, but the day was already beginning to dawn, the daytime animals had not yet awakened, and nighttime were going to bed. This was the moment he enjoyed most of the day so he could train, the silence and the cool night wind appealed to him.

It was one of the few times he wasn't accompanied and could be alone in the way he liked.

Unfortunately, faster than he would like this moment passed and he could soon hear the forest waking up, the noise of the animals moving, the birds starting to chirp. Sasuke sighed opening his eyes onyx and looked with some laziness at the trail to one of Orochimaru's abandoned bases where his teammates were in a hurry and he walked back.

Sasuke had stayed the night away from the others, stayed up late training and no matter how much Karin asked, begged and invited herself to go along with, everything she get out of him was an indifferent "No" before Sasuke walked out and well, there was not much discussion after the Uchiha made a decision.

His moments of solitude were precious and he wouldn't let Karin mess up just pulling sack.

He walked quietly with his hands in his pockets, and even from afar he could already hear the screams of his companions arguing.

"Stop being stubborn, woman!"

"And you stop being perverted! You think I don't know you just want to go watch because she's a woman?!"

Sasuke sighed seeing Suigetsu and Karin were arguing again.

"Someone has to watch." Suigetsu trying to argue.

"Juugo is very vigilant, he does not need you there." Karin groaned.

"And he does not need sleep? If it's not me, Sasuke will."

Karin was silent.

"Sasuke doesn't need to know anything."

"What I don't need to know?" Sasuke asked announcing his entry.

Karin widened her eyes and gasped, having a fit of coughing. Suigetsu laughed out loud at the reaction of the girl who continued to cough nervously, Sasuke just stared at them both in boredom waiting for someone to explain.

"S-Sasuke." Karin stammered. "It's no big deal, we just found someone inside the base." She said with a forced smile.

The dark eyebrows drew together slightly and he looked at Suigetsu hoping he would explain better than the redhead.

"Juugo found a girl in Kabuto's old drug store." Suigetsu explained, gaining a look of hatred from Karin.

Now Sasuke's eyebrows tightened.

What could a girl be doing in Kabuto's warehouse? He, himself, whenever he could, was far from them, they were dark places where Kabuto kept the materials and everything necessary for the experiments that he did with Orochimaru.

Sasuke remembered well the deformed fetuses of the failed experiments that Kabuto kept in pots of formaldehyde. It wasn't a nice thing, or something that would please a girl.

"Civil?"

Suigetsu shook his head.

"Shinobi, your chakra level was low, she must be hiding there."

"Hn."

Sasuke crossed his arms without showing any further reaction, walked calmly to the gun room.

He barely left the room and heard Karin's screams with Suigetsu again.

Without haste, he began polishing the weapons he had used to train before putting them back in place. He used that moment to reflect, letting his mind wander as his hands repeated their movements against the stone to sharpen them.

His distracted mind triggered an alarm as he felt an almost non-existent family chakra coming from inside the base.

The kunai in his hand escaped between his fingers, sticking to the ground and Sasuke didn't seem to notice, his instincts guiding his feet toward the chakra with his abnormal speed. In a few seconds he was facing one of the cells, out of the corner of his eye he could see Juugo, but the onyx eyes stared and the girl inside the cell.

The girl was sitting with her back to the two visitors, the only things that could be seen well with the lighting of the torches of the cell were pink hair a little below the shoulders and the skin white.

She was dressed in a black tank top with trawler sleeves, a black shorts with a knee-high stocking, unlike the old red sleeveless shirt and white skirt she wore.

It had been almost a year since the last time they had seen each other and he remembered the scene well. She had slipped between Sasuke and Naruto's fallen body and, thanks to his incredible control, Sasuke stopped short before reaching her.

'Annoying' was what he called her. 'Annoying as ever'

She didn't say anything, just stared at him for a moment with her intense green eyes over her shoulder. He stared back at her coolly, not caring to understand the emotions that went by.

Sasuke never had to interpret her silence simply because Sakura was always a person of words, which was very annoying when they were younger and she was one more of those stupid fans who were running after him, but now they had grown up and Sasuke didn't know how much of the old Sakura still existed.

He waited, waited for her to call him 'Sasuke-kun', waited for her to cry and beg him to return with her to Konoha, but she just looked back at the cell wall ignoring the presence of the Uchiha.

The Uchiha's eyebrows drew together now, looking to her back.

Realizing the intensity with which Sasuke looked at the prisoner Juugo decided to leave without saying anything. He knew the Uchiha well enough to know when to ask and not to ask questions.

"Sakura." His voice was low and hoarse.

His former teammate showed no reaction or anything to indicate that she had heard the call, but Sasuke would not repeat himself.

He further expanded his chakra by filling every corner of that room with his presence, so that it would be impossible not to notice it.

The girl just turned her head and looked over her shoulder.

"I thought you understood I didn't want to be followed." Sasuke said without raising his voice.

Sakura turned her face to the wall.

"And what makes you think I'm here for you?"

Her voice came out cold and sharp, much like the one he wore.

Sasuke searched his memories, but he couldn't remember a single time when Sakura addressed him that way, not even her enemies.

He let out a laugh that sounded more like a mocking grunt at the pink's answer.

"Then why are you here?"

She didn't say anything, she continued looking at the wall.

Sasuke was a man of few words, only said what he needed and definitely didn't like to be ignored, when he asked something was to be answered. Sakura's behavior was abusing the little patience the Uchiha had.

He grunted irritably.

She wasn't even looking at him.

"You know I don't like to repeat my words, Sakura." He said between his teeth, holding himself to not go to her and make her respond.

"Some things don't change, do they?" She gave a dry, forced laugh. "But I'm afraid I can't answer your question."

Sasuke looked at her, trying to understand the situation. So she was on a mission to Konoha? What did they want at the old Orochimaru bases?

"I don't mind waiting." Sasuke almost smiled.

No matter how long he would have to wait, Sakura would speak. Sasuke thought.

Sasuke stared at the girl's back, knowing her presence was a greater pressure on the girl's consciousness. Even after so long, he was sure of one thing, he knew Sakura and the Sakura he knew didn't resist the idea of going against him.

"Sasuke?"

Her call was so sudden that Sasuke was a little surprised, but he tried not to show any reaction even as she turned her body, facing him, but not looking at him.

She was stronger, he could see from the more defined muscles, but her curves and her delicacy were still there.

"Don't waste your time on me, I don't intend to stay long." She finally looked directly into the Uchiha's eyes.

Greens on onyx.

He wasn't intimidated and returned her eyes with the same intensity, analyzing the old teammate repairing something like a shadow in her eyes.

That was new. Sakura used to be like an open book for him, easy to read, easy to handle.

"That's what we'll see." He said in a threatening tone.


	3. Sharing information

**Notes:**

 _Thanks thymoondragon !_

* * *

The silence and the glances between the two were interrupted when another person entered the room.

"Hey, I brought..." Suigetsu stopped talking at the sight of Sasuke standing in front of the cell facing the prisoner. "Sasuke!"

The Uchiha continued to stare at the kunoichi until her shifted her attention to the other person.

"Juugo didn't tell me that you would be here, I came to take over the watch." The white-haired man smiled, showing his sharp teeth.

Seeing that Suigetsu wasn't going to leave so soon, Sasuke finished the conversation with Sakura. With one last glance at her, as if to say that they would speak another time, he turned away from the room.

"Don't pay attention on him. " Suigetsu said when they were alone. "He looks bad, but he's a nice guy."

Sakura laughed.

"You must be one of the only ones who thinks so." She said, rolling her eyes.

Suigetsu let out a loud laugh.

"You shouldn't judge people like that, Pinky."

Sakura linked her eyebrow to her nickname, not knowing whether she liked it or not.

"Believe me, I know Sasuke Uchiha enough to know that he's always in a bad mood."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow, staring the prisoner from top to bottom. So the girl knew the Uchiha before? It explained a little the tense atmosphere he found when he entered the room.

Interesting.

"If you know him well, then I have to introduce myself." He grinned, his teeth sharp. "Suigetsu Hozuki."

"Sakura Haruno." She smiled back.

"Makes sense." He said pointing at her hair and came over, sitting on a stool near the cell. "So Pinky, what do you do with your life? I know you're a ninja, I can feel your chakra by far."

The girl raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to have to do more to get me some." She replied provocatively.

Suigetsu smiled, enjoying the challenge she offered.

Of course he could think of more fun and painful ways for her to talk about, but he thought that someone wouldn't like see the girl hurt.

"Ok." He rested his elbow on his knee and his head in his hands. "Why don't we play a game? Your answer for mine, it's fair, don't you think?"

Sakura shook her head from side to side thinking about it, then nodded.

"Where you are from?" Was the first question.

"Konoha and you?"

"Kirigakure, what are you doing with your life?"

"I'm a doctor at the Konoha hospital." The answer came out quickly, as if natural. "I mean, I was." Sakura corrected herself with a sad gleam in her eyes.

Suigetsu made a mental note to ask about that later.

"Doctor, hm?"

"Trained by Tsunade herself." She finished in a low voice with a touch of pride.

"That's impressive."

She shrugged, seeming to be thinking away.

He was curious. Everything about the girl stirred his curiosity even more. What was a girl, trained by the Hokage herself, doing so far from her village? How did she knew Sasuke?

"How did you end up here?" Sakura asked suddenly catching him by surprise." With Sasuke and everything."

Suigetsu folded his arms behind his head looking bored.

"Orochimaru arrested me, Sasuke let go of me and I thought it would be fun to accompany this revenge." He said with a shrug, not seeming to care.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. She could believe he had been arrested by Orochimaru, but it was hard to believe he'd joined Sasuke just because he thought it was fun, who would join this crazy idea without a motive behind it?

"You're smart enough to have another reason other than fun to waste your time following Sasuke."

Suigetsu smiled, showing all her sharp teeth, and drew her sword from the shore to the front.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the sword.

"This is Zabuza's sword."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow, liking a little more of the girl.

"How do you know that?" He asked narrowing his eyes.

"My sensei killed him." Sakura blinked a few times, lost in thought.

"You wanted to know why, I collect swords, and one day I'll have Swords of the Mist Swords." Suigetsu decided to return to the subject.

She shook her head, smiling sideways.

"Now it's a real reason."

He winked at her.

"And you? What did you end up here for?"

Her green eyes stared at the floor, her face clouded, a sad smile on her lips.

"I fell in love with the wrong person."

After that they talked a little more before Sakura fell asleep. Not long after, Juugo returned to change places with Suigetsu.

"I brought your favorite, Sasuke." Karin announced delivering the package to the Uchiha who caught it without saying anything.

Suigetsu and the other two were gathered for dinner in one of the dining rooms while Juugo was on watch.

"Did you bring something to Pinky?" Suigetsu asked looking at the bag.

"Who?" Karin asked without paying attention to Suigetsu, would rather watch Sasuke eat.

"Sakura, our prisoner." He replied as if it were obvious.

Sasuke continued eating as usual, not seeming to care what they said.

Karin giggled.

"You two are already exchanging nicknames?"

"It's not my fault, she makes me too curious." He ran his tongue through his sharp teeth.

"I don't see anything special about her." Karin clapped her hand in the air, as if she didn't care.

"I think you'll change your mind when you know she's from Konoha, just like Sasuke." Suigetsu grinned at his teammate.

Karin closed her hand.

"And what does that have to do with it? She has nothing to do with Sasuke!" She snapped annoyed.

Suigetsu wanted to upset her, that was all. What is the chance of this girl coming from nowhere to meet Sasuke?

"I wouldn't say that, would you, Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked, smiling sideways at the situation.

"Sasuke?" Karin asked for an answer from him.

She wanted to hear no, that Sasuke had never heard of the girl, or better yet, that he despised everyone in Konoha. Yes, that's what she wanted to hear. It would be lovely to hear his hate against the old village, but that wasn't what he answered.

"It doesn't matter." Sasuke answered in his usual tone of indifference rising and leaving the room.

Karin looked in the direction Sasuke had gone. He didn't care, but that didn't mean he didn't know her.

"Do you want to hear my hunch?"

"No." she replied, continuing to stare at Sasuke's room.

"I'll talk like that just to annoy you." He folded her arms behind his head. "I think our Sasuke knows the prisoner much more than he's telling us."

Karin looked at him irritably.

"Stop talking shit, asshole!"

Suigetsu smiled even more.

"I'm just saying what I see."

"It's not because they're from the same village they're friends, idiot." She spat out the words as if disgusted. "She must have been one of those fans he hated."

"Maybe." He shrugged and stood up. "Or maybe not." He said into her ear as he passed, teasing her.

Karin grunted angrily and punched the table, making the cutlery and dishes sway.


	4. Neither heroes nor villains

**Notes:**

 _Hi!_

* * *

Sakura woke up in the middle of the night feeling her stomach complain, she hadn't eaten for more than a day. She didn't plan on staying that long so far.

This time, of course they had already missed her and Sakura knew that it wouldn't be long before they showed up, she just hoped he wasn't together when they came for her.

Of course she could try to escape, but apart from Sasuke's team being in greater numbers she didn't know their abilities. They had Sasuke, reason enough for her to know that she couldn't against them alone.

Her stomach rumbled again and she smelled the food, turned to find a bowl of muffins.

"What..." She took the confused plate, the food still warm.

"I hope you enjoy." Juugo said sympathetically.

Sakura looked at him. Even in that situation, she could say that she liked Juugo's presence. He was always very polite and gentle. He was easy to deal with, he didn't have to keep measuring words. She didn't know how someone like him could join Sasuke's mission.

"Thanks." She thanked him for the plate.

Even with Suigetsu's interrogation, Juugo wouldn't know that this was her favorite dish.

Unless… Sakura shook her head, letting the idea go. Sasuke couldn't remember that, not something so unimportant.

She heard Juigo mutter a curse and glared at him.

"You're hurt." She said, seeing him trying to bandage his arm alone.

"It's no big deal."

"I can help you if you want." Sakura offered. "I'm a medical ninja."

Juugo looked down at his own injured arm, had gained it the last time he got out of control and Suigetsu had to control him.

"It's not a good idea."

"You don't have to open the gate, my arms can pass." She stepped closer to the railing and showed her arms. "Come on, it's going to be quick, no one will know." Whispered the last part as if it were a secret.

Juugo grimaced and stood up, approaching the railing.

Sakura undid his bandages and ran her hand over the bruise, her expert medical eyes scrutinizing the deep cut with caution.

He offered her a new roll of bandages for her.

"We won't need that." She refused the bandages and smiled gently.

She placed her hands on the bruise and concentrated, a green light enveloped them sending an anesthetic sensation all over his arm.

Juugo closed his eyes taking advantage of the sensation, her touch was a soothing to the constant conflict within him.

Sooner than he pleased, he felt her hands move away from his arm.

Her green eyes looked proudly at his arm now with no scratches.

"I said you could trust me." She said giving him a gentle smile.

Juugo wasn't used to people smiles like that. Suigetsu smiled, but it was always a smile with ulterior motives, Karin smiled only at Sasuke and Sasuke never smiled at all.

He smiled weakly back at the girl, but he turned serious again.

"Sakura, I don't know what you were doing here, but don't forget, we aren't the heroes of this story." He warned her, referring to the team.

She tilted her head to the side.

"It's from the most unlikely people who can come up with the biggest surprises." She put her hand on his shoulder. "And rest easy, I know how to take care of myself." She assured him with a smile.

Juugo looked at her a little uncertainly, wanting to have her optimism.

Their conversation ended when Juugo felt a look pierce his back.

"Sasuke." The redhead said, looking at someone hidden in the shadows.

She shifted her gaze to the shadows, recognizing two bright red dots.

The Uchiha stepped out of the shadows, the faint light of the torches illuminating his white skin showing his indifferent face, but Sakura could feel his chakra boiling.

Juugo looked at Sakura with raised eyebrows, doubtful if he left her alone with Sasuke.

She smiled to show that everything was fine.

Juugo left the room slowly, afraid to leave Sakura alone with the Uchiha.

Without Juugo in the room, the silence settled in the room. She could feel the red gaze burning on her skin, she knew Sasuke was staring at her from head to toe.

"Don't spend your chakra using the Sharingan." She advised him as she walked across the room, running her hand through the bars. "You know I'm not the danger here."

"I really do? I don't think so, after all you don't want to answer me what you were doing here, you may well be spying on us for Konoha."

She raised one eyebrow, continuing what she was doing.

"I thought your interrogation techniques had improved."

Sasuke approached the cell watching her walk from side to side of the cell, passing her hand on the grid.

"Why don't you say so? The sooner you talk, the faster you get out of here."

She raised one eyebrow, her expression was ironic.

"Why don't I believe that?" She asked sarcastically. "You wouldn't just let me out of here, no, I know you." She stopped in front of him.

"No, you don't." He disagreed, looking into her eyes.

Greens in reds.

He thought she would look away, but Sakura kept exchanging glances without caring about the blatant danger coming from him.

Until, after a while, Sakura looked down from his red eyes, looking at Sasuke from top to bottom, before turning back to face him. She smiled weakly and took two steps back from him.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows a little, not understanding the action of the kunoichi. It wasn't as if she had walked away out of fear, but for another reason, one he didn't know what it was.

"You're right." She raised her hands in the air, as if surrendering. "I don't know you anymore."

He gritted his teeth, feeling a nuisance but knew that it didn't make sense for him to feel it.

He disengaged his Sharingan, turning his eyes to the normal onyx and lifted one of his hands showing a towel.

"What is it?"

"What does that look like? A towel, of course." He said impatiently. "I thought you'd like a shower after all these days."

The girl raised her eyebrows suspiciously.

"Would you rather I used a hose?"

She rolled her eyes and approached the railing waiting for him to open.

Sasuke opened the bars and made way for her to pass by, following her closely.

"Is that your way of saying I stink?" She joked, trying to make the strange weather go by.

"Hn." Was his reply.

She smiled sideways and felt his cool touch on her back, leading her down the corridors of the fortress to the bathroom area.

It was all covered in white tiles, from the ceiling to the floor. Sakura's eyes widened when she saw that the showers had no separation, or anything that could hide her nakedness, she must have imagined that Orochimaru wouldn't care about the privacy needs of his 'experiments.'

"Sasuke, the bathrooms..." For the first time he heard the dread in the girl's voice.

He almost smiled.

"This way." He pointed to a door she hadn't noticed before.

Sakura thanked the heavens when she saw a separate shower, but what surprised her was to see a hot tub waiting for her.

It almost made her cry just thinking of how her muscles would love the hot water after all this time.

"I, er..." She turned to him, a little bit shy, she didn't know what to say. "Thanks."

The Uchiha just shook his head, handing the towel over to her.

Sakura took off her sandals, releasing her toes, but stopped before taking the rest of the clothes off realizing that Sasuke was still in the bathroom and looking at her.

She faked a cough, ungraceful.

"You're still my prisoner, I can't leave you alone." Sasuke said without changing his tone.

He acted as if looking at the ex-teammate taking a shower was nothing, as if nothing on her were appealing to him.

Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"If it weren't you I'd think this is just a good Kakashi-style excuse for seeing me naked."

Sasuke closed his face disliking the comparison and turned his back to give her more privacy, but even on his back he knew she was smiling.

It was uncomfortable to be there, listening to the scrape of her clothes falling to the floor, the cold sigh as the sight hit her skin, the water moving as she stepped into the tub, splashing water as she bathed.

"When will I see the rest of your team?" Sakura asked suddenly.

"Why the interest?" He replied with another question cutting the subject.

Anyone else after that cut would keep quiet, it was clear that the Uchiha didn't like to talk now, not ever, but Sasuke knew Sakura, being annoying the way she was, would try to pull something off.

He almost smiled when he heard the girl's voice again.

"I need new clothes."

"Hn?"

Sasuke turned to the girl in the reflection without understanding the sudden change of subject. He didn't even had a chance to even see something before a soap hit his head hard.

"Baka!" He turned his back to her.

"Pervert!" Sakura yelled back.

Sasuke muttered several curses as he pointed to the pile of clothes Sakura hadn't seen before.

"Stop grumbling, the only one who's harmed in this story here is me. "Sakura fought dressing. "Pervert!"

"It's not like there's anything there to see." He said contemptuously, feeling his face burn.

"You're right, maybe that's why you're so stressed, I could give you a Icha Icha Paradise for you." She sneered, going to his side.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, not accustomed to this kind of joke.

"Sakura..." he was interrupted by a knock on the door before Suigetsu opened it.

"Sasuke!" He stopped talking at the sight of the girl beside the Uchiha. "Did I disturb something?" He asked, looking at them both with a malicious expression.


	5. Out of control

**Notes:**

 _Thanks williamssamantha0401 and AnimeEverywhere for the reviews!_

 _I was a little bit insecure to bring this story and I'm really surprise for having reviews XD_

 _To AnimeEverywhere: No spoilers, but yes, Itachi is going to be important and we going to see him and Akatsuki in action._

* * *

"Of course no." Sakura was quicker answering for both.

Suigetsu looked at Sasuke with one eyebrow raised, as if expecting a denial from him.

"Sakura needed to take a shower and everyone was busy ..."

"I wasn't busy." Suigetsu interrupted him, smirking at Sakura.

Looking at the girl, he noticed a necklace around her neck that he hadn't seen before, but before he could see it in detail, Sakura hid the pendant inside her blouse, between the breasts.

"Suigetsu, focus." Sasuke asked, drawing his attention back to himself. "What happened?"

The white-haired man widened his eyes, seeming to remember why he had come here.

"Juugo is out of control again."

Sasuke got a tense posture and ran out, Suigetsu followed him telling him where the teammate was and that Karin was having to deal with him alone.

With the event the Uchiha eventually forgot the prisoner and, as soon as he remembered, Sasuke stopped skidding a little and looked back with the red eyes of Sharingan already ready to hunt Sakura, but it wasn't necessary, a few meters from him Sakura ran to the side of Suigetsu.

Sasuke frowned a little trying to understand why she hadn't taken the opportunity to escape, but before he could say anything the three of them heard an explosion and Karin's body went through the wall leaving a rhombus.

Sakura can't help shrieking in surprise.

"Urgh." The redhead said, wiping some blood from the corner of her mouth.

Karin raised her hand as Sasuke approached, hoping he would help her up, but he passed straight through the hole she had left.

"Get me out of here, you idiot!" Karin shouted to Suigetsu before he followed the same path as Sasuke.

"Tsc, to get you out, just with a tractor." He zapped on his way.

Karin snorted and started out of the hole alone, narrowing her eyes at the sight of the pink-haired girl following Sasuke closely.

Sakura was shocked to see the destruction that kept her in the courtyard, the dust from the debris covered the air making it difficult to see. She looked at Sasuke, who already had his Sharingan activated, and followed the direction of his gaze relying more on the Uchiha's eyes than on her own.

She forced her gaze a little farther, finding a monstrous version of Juugo, his stuffed muscles and gray skin, in some places she recognized the marks she'd seen long ago in Sasuke's skin. She toke a step back as Juugo turned toward her.

That creature looked nothing like the man Sakura took care of the wounds, looked more like a demon than a man.

"Sasuke-kun?" A female voice caught Sakura's attention, the redhead that had been thrown was already standing on the other side of Sasuke.

Sakura raised her eyebrows a little as she looked away from the redhead and noticed how the girl made sure she was as close to Sasuke as possible. So here was the last member of Sasuke's current team, what could she do?

Gradually the puzzle won more and more pieces.

Sakura turned her attention to Juugo as he let out a loud grunt and then hurled an enormous piece of concrete toward them. Sasuke and the redhead diverted, Suigetsu disappeared into a puddle of water and Sakura had to think fast.

She wouldn't be quick enough to escape, so she concentrated her chakra on her fists and hit the concrete in the middle, breaking it in two.

"Holy shit!" Suigetsu appeared at Sakura's side, startling her.

She didn't look at him to know why he had said it, she kept staring at Juugo waiting for his next attack.

"And now?" Sakura asked Suigetsu.

"Now we have to wait for Sasuke to quit his laziness and bewitch the little monster." He answered, folding his arms.

Sakura frowned, not understanding Suigetsu's explanation.

"You will see." He said, smiling sideways.

The two returned to look at Juugo in time to see Sasuke coming to him with his abnormal speed, Juugo turned ready to attack him, but as soon as he stared at the Sharingan caught and then slowly Sakura saw the marks recede and the normal appearance of Juugo come back. As soon as redhead came back completely to his normal form he collapsed on the ground, unable to keep his own legs.

Seeing Juugo's fall sent an alert sounding inside Sakura and then her medical side kicked in. She ran to where Sasuke and Juugo were, bending down to the fallen body, she ran her hands over his wounds. The greenish glow of her hands was slowly closing his wounds.

Sasuke remained silent at the side of the two, watching closely the work of the pink. Karin and Suigetsu went to them.

"He tries to kill you, and you still heal him? Pinky, you really are a curious thing." Suigetsu said leaning against the huge sword he carried.

Sakura let out a low laugh.

Throwing a rock at her was no big deal compared to everything Sasuke did to her and Naruto.

"It's not my first time in such a situation." She murmured in response.

Sasuke lightly knit his eyebrows.

"Someone has to take the prisoner back." Karin said a little acidly, insisting on 'prisoner.'

Suigetsu let out a low laugh and put the sword behind his back.

"I'll take her."

Sakura stood up, already finished taking care of Juugo, and without resistance she went to Suigetsu's side.

Karin looked at the one with white hair, criticizing him for the look, but Suigetsu just opened her smile. Suigetsu and Sakura went to her cell while Karin and Sasuke took Juugo unconsciously to his room.

"What happened to Juugo?" Sakura asked when she was alone with Suigetsu.

The white-haired man cracked his tongue in the roof of his mouth.

"Let's just say that's his curse." He said as Sakura entered the cell, he locked her. "Orochimaru used it to elaborate his seal, you must know."

Sakura nodded, remembering the seal Sasuke had won when they were still younger on the Chunnin exam. It made sense now that Juuugo's marks were so much like Sasuke's, she still remembered how Sasuke looked very much alike when he fought Naruto before leaving the village.

"No need to worry, pinky." Suigetsu said, seeing that the girl frowned. "It's not the first time, not the last time it happens to him."

Sakura shook her head to the wall of the cell, sliding her body to the floor.

"Pinky?" Suigetsu called to her, catching Sakura by surprise.

Contrary to what she thought, Suigetsu was still standing near the bars of the cell. He looked at her strangely, a knowing look from someone who knew something no one else knew or suspected.

"It gets more and more interesting, you know that?" He said with that mocking smile. "Because, on second thought, anyone who can break a concrete block in the middle can manage to escape a simple cell of bars." He observed pretending inattention as he ran his hand over the iron bars.

Sakura kept silent.

"Why haven't you left?" He cupped his chin. "Is it for Sasuke?"

Sakura looked down at the floor making his smile grow.

"Suigetsu!" Karin appeared at the door of the room, she stared at them both in a bad mood.

The white-haired man snorted, rolling his eyes.

"We talked another time, pinky." He said, nodding.

The two of them left the room and Karin made sure to lock the door well when leaving.

"You shouldn't talk to the prisoner." She criticized him.

"And you should stop taking care of the lives of others." Suigetsu countered.

Karin growled and punched the back of his head, making his head warp in water for a second then back to normal.

"Stop thinking with your dick." fought. "I can't wait for Sasuke-kun to decide our next direction and leave that dead weight behind." She said referring to Sakura.

"She didn't look like a dead weight to me."

Karin looked at him out of the corner of her eye, irritated.

"If it hasn't for her, we'd be gone a long time." She said between her teeth.

The ninja grinned, tapping her arm with his elbow.

"Are you going to say you're not curious about her relationship with Sasuke?"

Karin grunted, glaring at him.

"They have no relation, do you hear me? None!" She spat her words out in anger and opened the door to the living room all at once.

He only grinned dejectedly.

"That's what you think, little redhead." He murmured to himself.


	6. You have my word

**Notes:**

 _Thanks Twisted Musalih for the review_

* * *

Sakura woke up in the middle of the night, thanking god for getting rid of one more of her nightmares. Her still panting breath and racing heart proved the real fear she was feeling.

Still feeling her muscles locked in tension, she contracted her abdomen, lifting the change to sit. A little confused by the nightmare, she got scared when she realizes that she wasn't the only one in the room.

Sasuke's teammate was seated in an iron chair facing the cell, staring intently at all the movements of the kunoichi from Konoha.

The two of them stared at each other. Just by looking, Sakura could be sure that the redhead didn't trust her at all. The hostile posture that the redhead presented seemed more than she had hatred for the pink.

A half smile grew on Sakura's face, already imagining the source of her hate.

"I was curious about when you'd show up." Sakura said, folding one of her legs, resting her arm on her knee.

"Believe me, being close to you was the last thing I wanted to be doing." Karin said with contempt. "For me, we would let you rot in this cell and we would go far away from here."

Sakura tilted her head slightly to the side. Maybe the girl's hatred for her was a little bigger than Sakura thought.

"But you're still here, watching me to keep me from leaving." Sakura countered, making Karin narrow her eyes.

"I'm not here to stop you from running away."

"Are you sure? Because I think Sasuke would be very angry with you for letting me go." Sakura was delighted to see the other's face twitch with hatred.

"You think you're too special, but you're just another prisoner." Karin spat the words.

Sakura's smile grew in a not-so-innocent way.

"And what makes you think I'm stuck here?"

Karin stood up, approaching the iron bars.

"Sasuke-kun might get mad at me, but he needs me. "She said proudly, puffing out her chest." He needs me as he will never need you." said, savoring the words, not knowing that the poison in them struck Sakura much more than Kain thought.

Sakura swallowed hard as she struggled to keep her expression unchanged.

"Sasuke doesn't need anyone." She said bitterly. "He only cares about his revenge, when you're no longer useful he will not think twice before dropping you."

Karin gripped the iron bar tightly wanting to push forward in the girl.

Sakura hadn't said that to hit her, who did she want to fool? It had been that part of the reason too, but she spoke because she knew from experience that Sasuke wouldn't allow himself to have ties with other people until his mission as avenger of the Uchiha clan is complete.

Unconsciously, she hugged her own body, remembering the visions Itachi had put in her mind.

"Nothing you going to say will make me betray him to help you." Karin said waking Sakura from her own thoughts, remembering that she wasn't alone in the room.

Sakura blinked a few times, focusing again on the image of the redhead.

"Do whatever you want." She murmured now without any encouragement to continue the other's taunts.

Sakura looked away at the wall, paying no more attention to Karin.

The redhead didn't like being ignored by Sakura, getting even more anger from the prisoner.

"Karin." A new voice appeared in the room.

The redhead turned toward the door, completely forgetting the prisoner as soon as she saw Sasuke standing there. She hadn't expected to see the Uchiha so early, since he had drifted away for yet another training session alone which usually only ended the next day.

"Sasuke-kun." she received it with a huge smile, running toward him. "Did you have a good workout? You're not even sweaty, I don't even know why you train, you're always perfect in everything, you don't look tired, you want me to get your bath? Or cook something to regain your strength?" She offered.

The brunette looked at her disinterestedly.

"I'm satisfied, you can rest now." He said with his usual calmness. "I came to watch the prisoner."

Karin blinked several times, trying to absorb what Sasuke had said, her anger at the rosy coming back with everything. One of her eyes blinked in a nervous tic, at the same time she gave a forced smile that turned out to be a grimace.

"No need, you can rest, I'll stay tonight and Juugo will come and change with me tomorrow." She said in a false sweetness.

Sasuke passed her, ignoring her, heading for the cell.

"I'm not tired." He sat in the chair she'd been sitting on before.

"But, Sasuke-kun..."

"Go, Karin." He interrupted without patience.

The redhead gritted her teeth, holding back the urge to snort. She looked away from Sakura, sending a look of hatred to the girl before she left the room.

The silence settled, Sasuke stared at her, but Sakura still seemed lost in thought.

"How is Juugo?" She was the first to interrupt the silence, not sure if he would respond.

Sasuke continued to stare.

"He tries to kill you, and yet you ask about him?" Sasuke asked, unable to understand the actions of the kunoichi.

Sakura gave a weak laugh.

"He would have to do more to kill me." She looked at Sasuke, almost smiling at the sight of him with his elbows resting on his knees as she used to see him doing when they were still on the same team.

"He probably should sleep until tomorrow night."

"Until tomorrow night?" Sakura asked in shock.

Sasuke snorted impatiently.

"He was out of control, I had to knock out him, he could end up hurting someone."

Sakura exclaimed, still indignant. She lived enough with Itachi to know that being unconscious all that time was because Sasuke had overstated the use of the Sharingan.

"Why did you heal him?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Sakura blinked slowly, thinking.

"Juugo never hurt me." She smiled a little as she remembered how the shinobi had been kind to her. "I couldn't do less to repay him."

Sasuke frowned, annoyed at their interaction. Sakura wasn't there to make friends, she was like his prisoner.

"Tell me why you're here, I've spent too much time on your little game, how did you find us?" Sasuke asked irritably and impatiently.

"I told you, I'm not here for you." Sakura drawled, tired of repeating that. "To have met you was a fate of chance."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow wryly.

"And you expect me to believe that?" He mocked. "If you're not here for me, then for what? What kind of interest could Konoha have in one of Orochimaru's abandoned caches?"

Sakura just staring at him in silence, which made Sasuke more irritable. He didn't like it when they didn't answer his questions.

He blew air from his nose, sighing heavily.

"As I said, I've already wasted enough time with you, as soon as Juugo is well again, we'll leave." He said and then leaned his body toward the girl. "If I find out you've followed us, believe me, I won't be as calm in dealing with it."

Sakura continued to stare at him steadily, not letting herself down.

"I won't follow you, you have my word." She ensured, looking deep into his eyes.

Sasuke leaned back, leaning back in his chair. He still kept his eyes connected to hers, assessing her mentally.

There was something about her that was definitely not there the last time they'd met. Some secret that made all her behavior change, the distance she put between them, the maturity of her actions, her abilities were also superior to what he remembered, a different glow dominating her eyes like a shadow of sadness.

What had happened to her?

At the same time that Sasuke saw the differences, he also saw a little part of the old Sakura when in small moments she acted sweetly and cared about others.

He wanted to ask what had happened, but the questions died in his mouth before they left.

"It was good to see you after so long, Sasuke." She said with a sweetness in her voice, as nostalgic as when after he sees an old photo and remembers how happy he was.

"Hn." Sasuke gave his typical response to everything.

Sakura smiled, not caring for his way.

They didn't speak any more, they just kept staring until the girl fell asleep again having one last image of Sasuke staring at her before embarking on the dream world, this time without more nightmares.


	7. End of the mistery?

**Notes:**

 _Hi everyone, hi new followers and favorites how are you, guys?_

 _A especial thanks Kitties nyan and thymoondragon for the reviews!_

 _Kitties nyah: Here I'm with another one! Hope you like :D_

 _Thymoondragon: Happy to see u again here! How you doing?_

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Suigetsu asked Sasuke once more as they walked away from the base.

Sasuke had decided to go to the nearest village behind travel supplies.

When he informed the rest of the team, except Juugo who was still unconscious, that they would leave leaving Sakura behind Karin almost realeased fireworks while Suigetsu seemed more careful.

Sasuke looked at Suigetsu out of the corner of his eye, annoyed at his teammate's insistence.

"Stay focused and leave your self-interests to yourself, if you don't agree you may as well leave the group and stay with her." Sasuke said dryly, glancing back at the path they followed.

Suigetsu raised one eyebrow in surprise at the hard way Sasuke had reacted.

"You're not really suggesting I have feelings for Pinky, are you?" He chucled as Sasuke jumped at the top of the trees. "I have no interest in leaving the mission now, maybe I'll enjoy her a bit before we leave..." He let the phrase die, wanting to give a second meaning.

If he wasn't paying attention, Suigetsu wouldn't have seen Sasuke wrinkle his brow before turning back to his expression of indifference.

A provocative smile crept over Suigetsu's lips as he mentally jotted down the subject so he could later tease the Uchiha a little more.

"You think it was a good idea to leave her with Karin? The redhead hates her, quite capable of trying to kill her while we're not around." Suigetsu commented after some time in silence.

Few things displeased him in Sasuke, and his silence was one of those things. For Suigetsu the Uchiha was too serious, too dense, there was hardly any moment of relaxation.

But each one with it's own problems.

"Sakura can handle it." Sasuke said simply, without adding anything else.

Suigetsu looked at Sasuke curiously. Even with those few words, Sasuke recognized Sakura's strength.

The two arrived at the village not long after the conversation ended. As they thought, the village wasn't very big and the trade was the main road that cut the village in the middle, tried not to draw much attention but it didn't help, both of them called too much attetion.

They were buying sake, at the insistence of Suigetsu who declared that he needed or would end up committing suicide by having to endure the presence of Karin, when Sasuke recognized a certain pale ninja in the tent opposite which they were.

Letting Suigetsu deal alone with the seller, Sasuke silently approached the ninja when he finished making his purchase.

"Oh, Uchiha." Sai exclaimed with a surprise too forced for Sasuke to really believe.

Beyond the feigned emotions, something in Sai irritated Sasuke. Maybe it was because his appearance was so similar to his, or the fact that they had placed him as his replacement, it was shameful to Sasuke to think that that inferior ninja could be his replacement.

"You'll be glad to know that Naruto isn't with me."

"Tsc." He exclaimed, dismissing the former teammate. "And the other?"

He didn't want to tell him straight away that he was with kunoichi, Sasuke wanted to see if He could get the information that he couldn't get with Sakura.

Sai dropped his head to the side, that false smile on his face.

"Who?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. After all those days of captivity, he thought that Konoha was desperate looking for Sakura.

"Sakura Haruno." Her name escaped his lips easily.

The forced expression gave way to seriousness and Sai straightened his body, adopting a hostile posture at the name of the girl.

"She..." he swallowed dryly, his gaze lingering for a moment before he faced Sasuke again. "Sakura's been missing for months."

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes, confused.

Missing? So she wasn't on a Konoha mission?

"What?" He asked confused and curious, he needed to know more.

"I shouldn't tell you, because I know you don't care."Sai chuckled harder than usual, making his point of criticism clear to Sasuke. "No one knows for sure what happened, it was an easy mission, she just had to give medical support to an allied village, but Sakura never made it to the village."

Sasuke's eyebrows knotted and he was even more confused.

"Naruto, obviously, went crazy, he immeadiately set up a search team." Sai sighed, looking away. "At first we thought they would ask for ransom, to use her as a bargaining chip to get Naruto, but no, it was as like, she'd vanished into thin air."

Sasuke could imagine the desperation of Naruto, the two could have all that history, but it was Sakura the treasure of Naruto. It was the girl of the team and, even after all her advance, he knew that Naruto still felt obliged to protect her and it wasn't only for the crush he felt for girl but a more intimate bond of confidence that Sasuke could see if formed after he left the village.

Now Sasuke understood why it had been so long since he had seen the blonde running after him, Naruto was searching for Sakura and for irony of fate, Sasuke had been the one to find her.

"Any clue as to who might have taken her?" Sasuke asked wanting to know more before handing it over.

"Nothing too concrete, but the few clues we have lead to believing Akatsuki might be involved."

The Uchiha's body tensed when he heard the name of the organization and automatically dialed the brother's name.

Sakura had been kidnapped by Akatsuki? By your brother? Was that why she was at one of Orochimaru's bases? No one dared to go to them and that was precisely why Sasuke chose them to be shelter, did the Akatsuki had the same thought and kept the girl there?

Sasuke gathered the pieces together, giving them a disorganized way of putting them together to make sense, but he knew he had flaws.

Sakura never showed herself in fear or that she was being held there against her will, it always seemed that she could escape without any effort. Had she escaped from the Akatsuki and stayed there to hide and find Sasuke before leaving for Konoha?

"I gotta go." Sai said suddenly, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts and waking him up for the moment. "I can't say it was a pleasure to see you again, so I'll say good-bye here."

The two exchanged a nod and Konoha's ninja and Sasuke's replacement vanished from his views.

"We're leaving." Sasuke said grabbing Suigetsu by the elbow and dragging him back to base.

"Hey, hey, I know how to walk." He released himself from his grasp. "Why such a rush?"

Sasuke didn't stop running, but also, didn't use his abnormal speed so that Suigetsu could follow it.

Even with thousands of questions from Suigetsu, Sasuke kept quiet focused on returning as fast as they could to the base. He was in a hurry to confront the girl one more time and try to tear away as much information as he could about Akatsuki.

Sasuke stopped suddenly as he felt an enormous amount of chakra followed by a loud noise of explosion and a huge cloud of dust rose in the heavens.

"What the fuck ..." Suigetsu snapped at the sight of the same scene.

The two of them ran again when another explosion was heard. Now Suigetsu seemed focused, then Sasuke didn't mind using his abnormal speed to get there first.

Someone was attacking the base, Juugo was unconscious and the only ones that could defend were Sakura and Karin. That idea didn't really please Sasuke at all.

With the Sharingan already activated, he scoured the entire area finding Karin first several feet from the base. The redhead was disarranged face down near a small pond.

"Is she…" Suigetsu put the question up.

Sasuke crouched beside her, turning her up. The red hair was messy and with some branches stuck between the strands, but apart from a few scratches there was nothing serious about the girl. Sasuke concentrated a small amount of chakra in the palm of the hand, like the beginning of a chidori, he pressed on the girl's chest.

Karin trembled, pulling the air hard, her eyes widening on alert as she lifted her trunk, sitting up, looking sideways.

"They ... They ..." She swallowed, gasping, stunned, unable to form a concrete phrase.

Sasuke stood up.

"Stay with her, I'm going after Sakura." He said and left without waiting for the other's reply.

He didn't hear any more explosions, and that worried him. By logic, you only stop attacking when you win the battle.

The base had a huge blast on the side and the destruction Juugo had made the day before didn't look anything like it was now, but it seemed more concentrated in a certain part of the structure.

Sakura's cell was empty now.

Sasuke gritted his teeth with eyebrows in a look of hatred, his hand went automatically to his sword, his fingers closing tightly around the scabbard.

As Karin was still stunned, Sasuke would have to find kunoichi on his own, luckily he knew too well the signature of her chakra and it would help him. He concentrated his chakra in his eyes, intensifying the power of the Sharingan and focused on finding her, in less than seconds he was already running towards the girl.

He felt his heart beat frantically as he saw the girl standing by two Akatsuki members, Deidara and Sasori, confirming his suspicions about their involvement in her disappearance.

Sasuke launched the first attack, making a movement in the air with the sword combined with a small chakra chain in the direction of the blond who was the closest of the girl. He knew they would dodge easily, but he wanted to create a distraction.

"Look who's here." Deidara said with a grin on his side, Sasuke saw Sasori standing in front of Sakura entering between the blond and the girl. "The baby Uchiha."


	8. The rescue

**Notes:**

 _Hi everyone, hi new followers and favorites how are you, guys? You had a good weekend?_

 _SleepyAsh2328 : here it is more for you! Tranks for the review_

 _Son-AbyGC: thanks 3_

 _Thymoondragon: can you imagine someone calling Sasuke "baby uchiha"? hahaha unfortunately I'm not better than you, I'm going through a really bad time but I'm recovering._

 _AnimeEverywhere: Happy to see you again! Now we going to have action and more Akatsuki, of course because I love them, I have something special for the Itachi's coming back :X_

* * *

Sakura was alone in her cell, meditating. A habit that she picked up from Itachi, at the beginning, she found extremely tedious, but as time passed by Itachi she learned to give due value.

She sighed, opening her eyes, focusing her gaze on the door of the cell, she thought on the older Uchiha.

After all those days, she didn't hear from any of them and it worried her, but at the same time she knew it was a good thing. If they hadn't got behind her it was because they didn't need her urgently.

And now that Sasuke was going to free her, she wouldn't have to worry about a possible confrontation between them.

She never thought of one day being in that situation, at least not so soon. What was her chance to bump into him? It was too ironic fate to have spent so much time behind Sasuke and at the moment that she wanted more distance from him, Sasuke was the one to find her.

Her reverie was interrupted when she heard a loud explosion. She got up quickly, on full alert.

She knew that Sasuke and Suigetsu were out and could only feel a faint trace of Juugo's chakra, which led her to understand that he was still unconscious, she could no longer feel Karin's chakra.

She leaned her ear against the wall and felt her eyes widen as she recognized the voice, throwing herself as far as she could. A second later the wall she was leaning against exploded.

"What..." She had a fit of coughing with the smoke that the explosion brought.

"Did you miss us?"

She looked where a wall existed but now there was nothing but a lot of smoke from the debris that slowly dissipated and revealed two men, a blonde and a redhead, both wearing the famous black coats with red clouds.

The redhead entered the room and approached her, offering her hand to help her up. Sakura accepted.

"You could be a little less fussy." Sakura grumbled, running her hand through her clothes, trying to get some of the dirt out. "Thanks." She thanked Sasori as he removed a handkerchief from the cover and offered it to her.

Sasori wasn't a man ofwords, but always had a certain care with her, always helping her and ensuring that nothing was lacking for her, getting bizarrely annoyed when she hurt herself.

Kizame suspected that it was related to his hobby jutso with the dolls and advised Sakura not to spend much time near him. She didn't really believe that much, but she also didn't spend much time near him since most of the time she was with Kizame and Itachi.

"We've taken care of their tracker, so I guess we have some time." Deidara made sure as the three of them left for the open field.

So Karin was a tracker? Sakura thought of putting the pieces together, it made sense since with her it would be much easier for Sasuke to locate Itachi.

"When you say 'take care'..."

"Relax, we knew you'd be a pain in the ass if we did something really bad with her, so we just knock her out." Deidara explained predicting the sermon that Sakura would begin.

"Did she ever see any of you?" Sakura asked worriedly.

She didn't want Sasuke to know about Akatsuki's involvement in her escape that shouldn't even happen if things had followed her plan, Sasuke would leave and she would be left behind.

He always left her, Sakura was already used to it and this time she would take advantage of it.

"No, Sasori-sama sent one of his dolls in our place."

Sakura smiled at the redhead with a small smile back. Deidara began to execute his jutso forming a giant bird.

"How's he doing?" Sakura asked in a low voice.

She can see Deidara halting for a moment before continuing her art. The three of them knew who Sakura was referring to, someone Deidara hated, but ever since the girl appeared he did his best to put up with it.

"He's the same." Deidara replied without looking at her, his words showing disgust and irritation. "You could at least ask for us first, you know? We came to rescue you."

"I didn't need any ransom, you came because you wanted, I was doing good by myself." Sakura said firmly, causing the two men to stare, they knew that Deidara had touched on a delicate spot for the pink.

"We don't..." Sakura raised her hand, interrupting what Sasori was going to say.

She approached the bird, climbing over the clay animal Deidara had made.

"We're wasting time, Sasuke shouldn't take long to get back." She said without looking at the two, the coldness in Kunoichi's voice showed that she was no longer willing to continue the conversation with the two of them.

Sasori looked at Deidara, blaming him with his eyes.

The two of them climbed into the bird keeping a respectful distance from the girl.

Even while living with Akatsuki members, Sakura's gentle personality hadn't changed, at first she was still afraid of being around them, but as time passed and she could know a little better behind the story, she got closer of some of them.

After all, no matter how sad their story had been, they were still wanted assassins.

But from time to time, something in her changed suddenly and she isolated herselg, staying only in the presence of Itachi until suddenly, she was reunited with them. And Deidara hated that, hated how she sought the Uchiha for anything and made her preference for him explicit.

"No..." Deidara snorted. "We just don't understand why you didn't come back before." He said trying to explain what he had said before. "We thought the baby Uchiha might be hurting you."

Sakura looked at the blond from the corner of her eye.

"I didn't come back for the same reason that Itachi didn't come personally to me." She looked at the horizon again. "If I fled earlier, Sasuke would hunt me to the Akatsuki's hiding place and I knew he wouldn't hurt me if I stayed out of his way."

"We're worried." Sasori said in defense of the two.

Sakura sighed, closing her eyes for a moment.

"I know and thank you for that, but I'm not a princess that has to be rescued, I can deal with this alone."

Deidara sighed impatiently.

"Sakura, I..." He was interrupted by the girl, who passed by him like lightning watching intently for the base that had left not so long ago.

All their conversation vanished from her mind as she felt a well-known chakra approaching and the peaks in control of it, Sakura could be sure that his owner was furious.

"Sasuke ..." The name came out as a whisper from her mouth as she panicked.

He couldn't come back, not now!

Kunoichi turned to the two Akatsuki members who also stared at the base, also recognizing the powerful chakra behind them.

"You have to leave me." She asked and they both looked at her as if she had created two heads. "Go! He is looking for me, not for you!"

"Are you crazy ?! If he knows you're with us, he'll kill you!" Deidara said uncontrollably grabbing the girl's arm.

"I know how to take care of myself! Now go!" She pulled her arm out of Deidara's grip.

"Sakura, don't be inconsequential, don't act as if the friendship that one day you and he had will protect you from his fury." Sasori chided her angrily." Do you think this childish crush will protect you? Stop being an idiot, Sasuke will kill you!"

Any and all the emotion that Sakura could have drained from her face at the words of Sasori.

The discussion of the three was interrupted by a ninja attack they were discussing.

Deidara's bird whistled loudly as he tried to return to equilibrium.

"Look who's here." Sasori stepped forward from the girl, capping Sasuke's vision of her. "The baby Uchiha."

Sasuke's brows drew together, his expression pure hate.

Sakura trembled, she knew that expression well and knew that if she didn't do anything a bloody battle would happen between the three of them and she knew him so well that she was sure that Sasuke wouldn't stop until someone died.

Sasuke made another attack making the bird do a sudden turn to deflect from the attack almost throwing them away. Not content to just stay in it, he kept sending attacks in the air causing the bug to stir in the air and as he approached, his blows were more certain.

"Do as I say." Sakura whispered to Sasori, the redhead held her so the girl wouldn't be thrown to the ground.

Realizing that he wouldn't let her go, Sakura went up to Deidara, who in the confusion between keeping the bird in the air and defending himself from Sasuke's attacks, interpreted Sakura's approach as a threat and launched one of her own. explosive works in the direction of the kunoichi, hitting her in the chest.

A brief moment of respite arose between Sasuke and Deidara as they watched in shock as the girl's unconscious body plummeted from the bird in a free fall of more than 300 meters.

Sasuke's body went into motion abandoning the attacks and running to reach the body of the girl, but even with his speed he only managed to catch her when Sakura was already a few meters off the ground.

He steadied her body, holding her with both arms, holding her to his body until he landed safely on the ground.

Sasuke frowned seeing that the girl had a massive arm wound with burns scattered across the rest of her body. He turned his gaze away from the girl unconscious to the bird in which the two Akatsuki members were.

He knew he would have to leave her behind if he didn't want to lose sight of them, but...

Sasuke turned his gaze to Sakura assessing how bruised she was.

He sighed grinding him teeth and straightened the girl in his arms, turning his back on the two enemies and back to the base.

Other meetings between them would come, he was sure.


	9. Recovery

**Notes:**

 _Hi everyone how are you, guys?_

 _Thymoondragon: I'm feeling like crap, honestly and I hate to agree with you in this but, it gets getting worse than it being better. Imagine Deidara will try to explain to Sasori? To Itachi?_

 _Anime Everywhere: I try to update as fast as I can, actually I already have a loooot of chapters ready in Portuguese so I just have to translate._

 _Oh you going to love his reaction when he find out the true... Or not, maybe you hate. Probably you going to hate, almost sure about it ahahahahha._

 _Let's go to another chapter!_

* * *

Sasuke ran with the girl in his arms, feeling his stomach twitch with the smell of a mixture of her natural scent, sweat and the smell of burnt flesh.

He looked at the girl's arm where it had a large third-degree burn and other lower-grade burns that closed the arm almost to her neck, already imagining the huge scars that would stain in her pale skin.

Arriving at the base he didn't think twice before taking her to his room, laying her down on his bed.

Even if the cell where she was before hadn't completely destroyed, Sasuke wouldn't let the girl recover in that place. Sasuke's room was much more comfortable and still closer to Kabuto's secret stock of medicines and strange herbs where he could get something to improve at least a little, the burns.

"Sasuke, Sakura is…!" Suigetsu came running into his room. "She..." he interrupted what he was about to say when he saw the woman lying on Sasuke's bed.

"They came to get her back." Sasuke explained as Suigetsu slowly approached the girl, probably impressed by the bruises.

Suigetsu lifted a hand toward her injured arm, a wrinkle formed between his eyebrows, hesitating before leaning against the burn.

" _They_?" Suigetsu asked narrowly.

"Akatsuki." Sasuke said the name between theirs. "They kidnapped her."

Suigetsu turned to Sasuke, an expression of confusion on his face made clear what was in his mind. Why would they kidnap her?

Sasuke shook his head, answering the teammate's silent question. Suigetsu turned to look at the girl once more.

She was still unconscious and it seemed she was going to stay that way for some time which was somehow a good thing, postponing the tremendous pain she would feel from the burns.

"Do you think we managed to persuade Karin to help her?" Suigetsu asked. "In her injuries, I mean…

"She needs a doctor." Sasuke said approaching, stopping next to Suigetsu facing the ninja.

Suigetsu let out a dry laugh.

"It's ironic that the only doctor is the one who needs a doctor." He mocked.

Sasuke showed no reaction to the joke of the other, continuing to face the girl in disarray.

Suigetsu left the room saying he would see how the other two teammates were and if Juugo was already awake, he would tell them what had happened.

Sasuke looked to her wounds, the edges of some burns began to bleed a little. Sasuke went to Kabuto's closet and picked up some herbs to make a paste he had learned to keep from infecting.

Back in the room, he already had the green paste and other bandages to clean the bruises. Sasuke sat on a stool next to the bed, staring a little lost at the girl's wounds, not knowing where to start, he decided to clean her skin first.

Pouring a little water on a clean cloth, he decided to start with the minor burns, but as soon as Sasuke touched the cloth on her bruised skin a hand gripped his wrist.

Sasuke looked at the girl's face, her wide green eyes staring at him, her superhuman strength almost breaking the Uchiha's wrist. Probably she had woken up with the pain of the bruises.

Still looking rather frightened and embarrassed, Sakura tried to pull away from Sasuke as if she were afraid of him, but as soon as she made the move she let out a cry of pain from the burns. Sakura dropped Sasuke's wrist brutally and reached for the other arm that was thrown like a dead weight. Seeming now to realize how much she was injured, she let out a loud groan of pain before she barked her teeth to keep the screams of pain she felt from escaping.

"You're safe." he said as calmly as he could, wanting to convey tranquility and security to the former teammate.

Sakura stared at him again and growled at him, before stifling her screams again.

"Maybe this will help." Sasuke said showing the pot with the green paste.

He approached slowly and, with his fingers dirty with the medicine, he went past girl's arm. Sakura turned her head to the side opposite the injured arm and closed her eyes tightly, trying not to scream in pain, but some she couldn't hold to herself.

With patience and a delicacy that Sakura didn't expect, Sasuke finished spreading a generous layer of green goo across all the bruised areas. Sakura didn't grind her teeth anymore, but by the expressions on her face even with the anesthetic ointment , she still felt pain.

"Now you need to rest, I'll get you something to eat." Sasuke said as he stood up.

Sakura stared at the bed sheets a little bloodstained.

"I'm going ... I'm staying here?" Her voice was hushed and hoarse.

She knew it was Uchiha's room before she saw his guns and his family's coat of arms on top of a dresser, that only served to confirm her suspicions, Sakura recognized Sasuke's perfume on the sheets.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, stopping before leaving the room.

"You'll be safer here." He said before leaving the room.

She stared at the throbbing wounds.

Deidara's explosion had caused more burns than she'd anticipated, her arm was practically useless and would take at least days to be fully healed. She gasped, the pain radiating from her arm to the rest of her body as she slid her body down the bed until she was lying down again.

She stared at the door thinking of Sasuke.

She wasn't understanding his actions, remembering the lost expression on his face as he stared at her wounds when she woke and the worried expression he had treated the wounds.

Sasuke was taking care of her, he had even given up his room so she could recover.

Sakura was afraid of when all the care would be over and the questions would begin.

It wasn't Sasuke who brought her food, it was Suigetsu who shows up, hours later late when it was already dawn.

"Don't look at me like that." – She mumbled, setting her plate on the bed with a good arm.

"I'm sorry to say, but you're like shit, Pinky." Suigetsu said crossing his arms.

She grunted again, having difficulty eating with one hand.

"Great, because that's how I feel." She mocked, making fun of herself.

The two were silent while the girl ate, Sakura was embarrassed by the intensity with which the ninja stared at her. It seemed that he was waiting for the moment Sakura would undo like a porcelain doll that breaks to the touch.

"Don't look at me like that, I may not have the same abnormal recovery as Sasuke, but I'll be fine." She said after finishing.

"I don't think you see the same burns as I did then." Suigetsu said pointing at the completely bruised arm. "That shit is ugly as hell."

Sakura chuckled.

"I'm a medical girl, Suigetsu, I'm used to seeing this kind of injury." She said, thinking how many times she had dealt with the wounds of the people who had dealt with Deidara and his explosives.

He sighed, shaking his head, not seeming to believe it yet.

"I'm not saying it's not hurting, believe me." she laughed. "If I could I pluck my arm to just not have to feel this pain."

The anesthetic ointment was already losing its effect and Sakura knew what the next procedures would be and how painful they would be.

"You should be resting." Sasuke said as he entered the room and see the two talking, gave an accusatory look to Suigetsu.

"Even if I wanted to, I doubt I would be able to sleep with this pain, Suigetsu was helping me to distract myself." Sakura said trying to defense the white haired.

Sasuke continued to stare at Suigetsu.

"I'll take this from here." The white-haired one said taking the empty plate from Sakura to leave the room after.

"He was just trying to help." Sakura said with a gentle smile.

"Hn." Sasuke let out his standard response to everything and approached.

The onyx eyes looked closely at the bruised arm.

"How are you doing?"

"Fucking hurting." She let out a laugh, speaking in all honesty.

Sasuke joined his eyebrows, his lips compressed.

"Can you heal on your own?"

She stared at the bruise, squeezing a few points with her good hand.

"It will take a few days, but I think so." answered.

Sasuke nodded and the two were silent, where Sasuke stared at the bruise.

"If you want, I can prepare you a bath." Sasuke offered.

Sakura nodded and Sasuke waved his head back a few minutes later when the shower was ready.

"Sasuke, what..." He bent down and took the girl in his lap. "I can walk alone."

"You can't even sit without pain." He said without calling her sulky expression.

Sasuke led her into the same bathroom, the same hot tub waiting for her. The renegade ninja put her sitting on the edge of the tub.

"You, hn, can you help me?" Sakura asked blandly, not daring to look at the Uchiha while making the request.

"Hn." It was his answer as he approached again.

"This is going to be pretty shameful, so please don't make it worse." She asked, feeling her cheeks burn. "Can you help me get undressed?" She murmured as quietly as she could.

Sasuke sat for a few minutes in silence, looking a little unresponsive to the girl's request. He approached and Sakura pointed to what had once been her blouse, but which was now just a red cloth totally burned. He took out a kunai that was between the his robes and passed the side of the blouse, looking away as the fabric flowed down her body falling to the floor.

"Can you put me in the tub?" She asked in a whisper.

Sasuke stared back at her, her breasts covered by a cloth wrapped tightly around the place, as ninjas often did. He wrapped an arm around her thin waist and leaned her legs in the hot water, sliding to a sitting position.

"May I ask one last thing? I don't think I can do it without you."

"Hn." Sasuke answered and stood beside her.

Sakura interpreted that as a positive response.

"I need you to take the sponge and rub the burns to remove the dead skin."

"What?!" Sasuke let go, unable to hold himself.

He couldn't imagine the pain she would feel if he did it, I mean, just thinking about it he felt his stomach twist.

"I can't do it without you, Sasuke." Sakura said with a plea in her eyes. "If I don't do that, it might flare up and get worse."

Sasuke stared at the girl without saying anything.

"If you don't want to, I can call Suigetsu." she said seeing the hesitation in him.

She heard a kind of growl before Sasuke grabbed the sponge and dragged a stool, sitting behind the girl outside the tub. Sakura opened a half smile, taking her sweater off the floor.

"Even if I scream or cry, you have to continue, okay?"

Sasuke nodded and Sakura put the shirt inside her mouth to prevent the screams from coming out and that she would end up hurting her mouth, shaking her head as a sign to start.

For nearly an hour, Sasuke rubbed the girl's burns, muffled cries echoed in his mind, and the image of her face red and completely wet with her tears of pain would forever be in his mind. He could almost feel physical pain at having to do that to her.

Sakura still cried a little more before taking the tissue from her mouth, her breath still failing and she sniffled.

Sasuke knew his work there was over, but his body had no intention of leaving the bathroom and leaving the girl in that state.

"Thank you ... Sasuke-kun." she said between a snort and another, not resisting to call him the same form that called when they were still of the team 7.

He swallowed it dry, letting out the breath he didn't even remember being trapped.

Sakura slipped a little more, now the water covered her chin. She was still shaking a little from the pain.

Sasuke brought a hand up to the nape of the girl, making a shy affection on the spot feeling Sakura relax at his touch.

She expanded her chakra making the water win a neon green tone, relaxing even more. She didn't know why Sasuke was still there, but she thanked him internally for it.

She leaned her head in the direction of his hand, and she closed her eyes, surrendering to exhaustion.


	10. Even if you don't want to

**Notes:**

 _Hi everyone how are you, guys?_

 _Twisted Musalih: Thank you!_

 _Thymoondragon: I hope things get better, it's not easy, I know that. It's like I say to myself, today is already better than yesterday._

 _Let's go to another chapter!_

* * *

The three of them – Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Karin – were sitting in a circle, eating in silence.

After Juugo woke up and found out what had happened, Suigetsu got scared of him getting out of control again, but Juugo only offered himself to spend the night watching over Sakura until Sasuke returned.

"When are we going to leave? Juugo is already awake and I don't mind leaving today." Karin said looking at Sasuke.

She couldn't wait to get away and get rid of Sakura. Argh, just remembering her name made Karin angry, was because of Sakura that all that shit was happening and the worst part was that Sasuke became her babysitter.

"But it wasn't you who couldn't even get up a few hours ago to get a glass of water?" Suigetsu mocked. "Now you want leave?"

Since Suigetsu had taken Karin back to the hiding place she had stayed in bed all the time, complaining of nausea and headache trying to use Suigetsu as a slave to fulfill her wishes. She even tried to get Sasuke's attention to fulfill her whims, but only gained a few minutes of Uchiha's attention until he returned to his room where the kunoichi was.

Karin glared at Suigetsu, who only grinned at her.

Sasuke deposited his empty plate along with his hashis.

"Let's leave as soon as Sakura got better, we can't stay on that destroyed base." he said rather seriously, looking at the other two teammates.

At the same time Karin frowned, her mouth opened in a perfect O to complete her revolted expression and Suigetsu just raised both eyebrows in surprise.

"What?!" Karin stood up, shouting. "Is she coming with us?!"

Sasuke looked up at the fierce face of the redhead, completely indifferent to her outburst.

Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"Can you be less scandalous?" He muttered to her and looked at Sasuke. "How long do you think it'll take for her to be okay? We are an easy target for Akatsuki if they decide to return."

Sasuke was already opening his mouth to answer it when Karin interrupted him.

"You can't be serious!" She said angrily, clapping her palms on the table.- She'll slow us down! – Karin looked at the Uchiha. "Sasuke, I never thought you would give up the quest for your revenge just because of a stupid girl."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, grinding his teeth, the air around him shifting completely, becoming dense and somber. Both Karin and Suigetsu shivered, the redhead's shoulders immediately bowed and she cringed at the Uchiha's gaze.

Suigetsu almost felt sorry for Karin.

"Never doubt my focus, my revenge, my purpose in life." Sasuke said between his teeth. "If I want to keep her with us, it's because in less than a week she did more to track down my brother than you have done so far." His head tilted to the side leaving the onyx eyes more threatening. "If anyone had to be left behind, it would be you, Karin."

Karin gulped dryly slowly back to sit down, Sasuke continued to stare.

"Sakura will stay with us until I decide otherwise." he said looking at the two emphasizing that this wasn't something that he would accept further discussions on the subject.

After a few minutes in silence where Sasuke stood staring at the two of them waiting to see if either of them would say anything, he rose from the room without looking back.

Sasuke walked to his room, finding Juugo sitting on the floor beside the bed where Sakura slept, the redhead staring at her unblinkingly.

"Juugo." Sasuke called out in a low voice, not wanting to wake the girl.

The other boy stood up immediately, going to Sasuke's side.

"Sasuke. He bowed slightly." She ended up sleeping as we talked, I think she'll just wake up in the morning

Sasuke nodded, looking at the girl in bed. She had the arm, the shoulder, and the top of the trunk bandaged.

"You can go now, I'll stay with her the rest of the night." Sasuke said without looking at him.

Juugo looked up at the Uchiha, his eyebrows knitting, unfamiliar with his behavior.

It had not been too long since the two of them had changed their lookout, and Juugo hadn't expected Sasuke to return until at least the next day, not just a few hours later.

"I've rested too much, I don't mind staying with her until tomorrow." He said, standing firm. "If it's because of the room, I can transfer her to my room..."

"She stays here." Sasuke interrupted him. "I'll keep her, you can go." He continued, repeating himself without leaving any gaps for Juugo to insist otherwise.

The redhead still hesitated for a moment, interjecting a worried look to Sakura and a hesitant to Sasuke, before retiring.

Sasuke stood for a few minutes staring at the calm way Sakura slept.

After everything that had happened he didn't expect a reaction like that of Sakura, he thought she would be terrified, that she would cling to him for comfort and a safe haven as she did on the old missions when they were still a team.

He expected anything, unless she reacted so calmly and earnestly, even in times of pain during the bath, she had kept her cool and tried her best not to show how much it was really hurting.

Sasuke stared at the ninja's white skin, noticing old scars he hadn't noticed before, wondering what battles she had won.

He knit his eyebrows together.

How many of those scars had left her life by a thread?

Sasuke sat on the floor, his back in the wall against the bed that Sakura was lying on while keeping his eyes on the girl, but at some point he fell asleep only waking up in the morning as the sun's rays entered through the window illuminating and increasing the room temperature.

He blinked a few times, focusing his vision. He looked at the bed, seeing that Sakura was already awake and staring at him with narrowed sleep.

"Good Morning." She greeted him with a sleepy voice.

Sasuke said nothing, just rested his elbows on his knees, interlacing his fingers.

"How are you doing?" He asked, feeling his neck complain by the way he had sleep.

Sakura pressed her pale pink lips into a small beak.

"Better than I look, I assure you." She said, smiling weakly, using her good arm to lift her trunk.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, finding it ironic she says that, but having such difficulty in doing a simple thing as lifted her body to remain seated.

"I thought Juugo was staying the night." She remarked as her good hand, glowing in a tone of neon green, passed the bandaged arm for yet another treatment session.

"It's my room." Sasuke said as if it was obvious why he had stayed and Juugo had gone.

Sakura shook her head still focused on her arm.

"I'll get you something to eat." Sasuke said getting up after a while observing the careful movements, remembering that the medical ninja hadn't eaten anything for almost a day.

The green glow went out and she took her hand away from her bandaged arm.

Sakura bit her bottom lip and turned her face toward the small window.

"I really appreciate everything that you have done, Sasuke, but don't feel obligated to take care of me." She narrowed her eyes, pressing her lips together. "I don't want to be a burden to anyone."

They were both silent for a moment.

"Even a person like me wouldn't leave you alone being that way." he murmured in a low voice also not facing her, not wanting to prolong the situation even more he turned ready to leave the room. "I'll get your breakfast, the faster your strength comes back, the faster we'll go."

Sakura frowned in confusion.

"We?" She asked before Sasuke left.

Sasuke turned his face, looking over his shoulder.

"As soon as you're well, you go with us." He reshaped the sentence, making it clear what he meant.

"No, I won't." Sakura disagreed immediately not giving Sasuke time to leave the room and think he would have the final word.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows irritated at her refusal, turned once more to face her. His head fell to the side, as if he had heard it wrong and challenged the girl to repeat.

"I said that meeting you was a fate of fate, I gave my word that I wouldn't follow you." Sakura reminded him of the moment that now seemed so distant when he told her that he was free of him."My way is not by your side."

As soon as her words reached the ears of the Uchiha, Sasuke sucked in his breath taking a small step back unconsciously, his eyebrows knotting together and he gritted his teeth. The words had come as slaps in his pride.

"That's not what you said when I left Konoha." He spat the words in the most acidic way that he might want to hit her in the same way Sakura had done to him.

Sakura swallowed hard and looked away into her hands, her gaze flickering as she tried to contain the urge to cry.

"And yet you gone." She answered so low that if the room wasn't in absolute silence Sasuke wouldn't hear. "I can't go with you."

Sasuke took a deep breath, swallowing his anger, swallowing his will to break everything through the room.

"If you think I'm going to let you go alone to hell you want to go after knowing that you're an easy target for Akatsuki, you're far wrong." He continued to spit out the words, controlling himself as hard as he could so to not scream how angry he was. "You can talk as much as you want, but I'll protect you even if you don't want to."

Sakura widened her eyes in shock at Sasuke's surreal words, any argument disappeared in her head for a moment which was enough for Sasuke to leave the room without looking back.


	11. Stay

**Notes:**

 _Hi everyone, how are u?_

 _So, someone sent this review to me:_

 _"This story looked promising from the summary but i can't take this seriously if you use dashes for speech_

 _so i woke be reading unless you use quotation marks, sorry"_

 _What do you think? Agree? Quotation marks are better than dashes for speech?_

 _Thymoondragon: I wish u luck in this period, really. I hope the story help you._

 _Twisted Musalih: If Karin think that her drama it's going to work on Sasuke, she's totally wrong._

 _Malyss64: Hi!_

 _Let's go to another chapter_

* * *

They didn't discuss it again for the rest of the day, nor even when he brought her food or went back to sleep in the room. Suigetsu and Juugo went back to visit her and check her status, but now she didn't have that 24-hour vigilance, Sakura considered that a way for Sasuke to show to her that she was no longer a prisoner there.

The next morning when Suigetsu came to bring her breakfast, Sakura said that she was ok and that if they wanted they could go. Suigetsu didn't seem to agree much with this idea and a few minutes after leaving the room, Sasuke rushed in.

Sakura let out a low laugh.

"It seems Suigetsu already made his gossip."

Sasuke ignored her comment.

"You don't have to do this, we can wait until you're totally okay."

Sakura shifted, tired of lying down.

"I said I didn't want to be a burden, but I know myself and I know that I'm well enough to go." She said with an irritated sigh at the end. "Thank you for your care, but I'm not as fragile as you think I am and I'm so tired of being here." She pointed to the room around him. "Tired of being treated like I was going to break."

Sasuke pursed his lips for a moment, annoyed by the girl's difficult personality, harder than he remembered when they were kids. Why so annoying?

"If you want so bad to get out of here, we'll leave in the afternoon." He announced, pursing his lips angrily. "Just not slow down us to accompany you, understand? And don't complain about pain and ask to stop, we won't stop.

A small, mocking smile grew in the corner of her mouth.

" If this happen, you will remember that it was you who wanted me to accompany you." She countered acid.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, taking a deep breath trying to keep his temper and left the room to warn the rest of the team.

Juugo had lunch with her and left a change of clothes so she could change, the two of them went to meet the rest of the team.

Suigetsu greeted her with a comment as to how she wasn't as ugly as she looked in that room.

"Getting in there was making me sick." She replied with a grimace. "I felt like a caged animal. "

Sasuke looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

They continued their journey, Karin led the way with Sasuke by her side, the redhead even tried to pull subject, but the ninja was shallow and dry in the answers so she give up. Suigetsu, Juugo, and Sakura followed, Suigetsu chatting animatedly with the men and occasionally asking something about it to Sakura just to include it, but Sakura ended up being silent most of the time.

As night fell, they formed a bonfire in a small clearing and mounted bed around the fire while Juugo made dinner.

"It's all right?" Juugo asked as Sakura approached the fire after Karin let out a hint for her to send her out. "She's not like that all the time, I'm sorry, I think it's because she was the only woman before and she doesn't handle very well the presence of other women around Sasuke."

Sakura smiled faintly, only lifting one corner of her mouth, stirring the fire with a twig.

"In our village, before he left, Sasuke had a lot of fans." she said nostalgic, remembering the times of team 7. "Karin would make friends with them."

Juugo saw as Sakura's face changed as she was lost in memories, a sad glow dominating her green eyes.

He looked over his shoulder in the direction where Sasuke arranged things with a Suigetsu discussing something with him, but it seemed more that Suigetsu was talking to himself since Sasuke didn't say anything.

"Sakura ..." The kunoichi looked up at Juugo, who seemed hesitant to continue. "If you don't feel comfortable, don't feel obligated to answer." He approached her. "You and Sasuke know each other better than just people who lived in the same village."

Sakura stared at the fire again.

"Sasuke and I were the same team when we were gennis." She replied with a forced smile.

Juugo widened his eyes a little, looking away once again at Sasuke, who was already staring at the two of them, curious by the whispering between them.

The redhead tried to disguise his surprise not to draw more attention from the Uchiha.

"He never ..." he hesitated. "Sasuke doesn't talk about his time in Konoha."

Sakura laughed through her nose.

"It doesn't surprise me." She said with a sad smile and looked away from the fire to Juugo. "Me and my other teammate did everything we could to bring him back, but Sasuke made a point of cutting all ties with us and the village."

Juugo shook his head.

"You're friends with that noisy blond then." He said, wanting to change the focus of the subject a bit to push the shadows away from the girl's face.

Sakura laughed, now a real chuckle not the forced ones she was giving.

"Apparently you met Naruto." said, still smiling at the thought of his friend.

Juugo nodded, smiling at her.

"Despite finding him fighting with Sasuke, he seemed to be a very skillful ninja"

Sakura turned her gaze to the fire, the smile dying on her lips.

"He is." She agreed with Juugo. "He has a very pure heart, he deserved a better team than ours."

Juugo frowned but any question he was asked about the girl's change of behavior died when Sakura stood up, murmured something about going to the bathroom and rushed out of his side.

"What happened?" Suigetsu asked after approaching, noticing the absence of the girl.

Sasuke and Karin approached as well, the girl sat by the fire as the Uchiha stared at the opening that led into the forest with eyebrows joined, lips compressed showing his irritation.

"She said she needed to go to the bathroom."

"And you let her go like that?" Sasuke muttered under his breath. "She's going to run!"

The other three looked at Sasuke, not understanding his reactions.

"I thought she was no longer a prisoner." Juugo replied.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Juugo, gritting his teeth, turned his face suddenly and entered the forest.

If that annoying girl thought she could run away ...

He grunted, activating his Sharingan in search of the girl finding her a few feet away, sitting on one of the last branches of a tree. Concentrating chakra on his feet, he climbed the tree stopping at the branch next to hers.

"You shouldn't go so far away." He said after a few minutes in silence where the girl seemed to completely ignore his presence.

Sasuke almost snorted as the girl seemed to continue to ignore him, staring at the sight.

Standing near the top of the tree, the view from the top of the forest was beautiful and dark at the same time, the light of moon created shadow monsters from the tree swing, and the silence of the night was filled with the sounds of nocturnal animals.

Sasuke studied the girl who had once been his team, his second family. The green eyes were cloudy as they watched the horizon told the Uchiha that although the girl's body was there, her mind was flying.

"You never thought of Konoha?" She asked suddenly without looking, her voice distant and soft in his ears.

Sasuke's body stiffened at the question.

"You never thought what it would be like if you'd never made that choice?" Shee asked, seeming not to care that Sasuke hadn't answered the previous one. "Or how would things be if you could just go back?"

Sasuke looked away at the girl, not knowing why she was bringing the subject up.

"I thought you'd given up trying to persuade me to come back." He said grumpily.

Sakura blinked a few times, seeming to wake up to the current moment.

"I offered everything I could to you, we risked our lives to bring you back and yet nothing was enough to convince you." She said, lowering her gaze to her hands. "I understand your path as an avenger, but more and more I realize that my role in this story is not on your side."

Sasuke glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, still in silence with an annoyance that came whenever she spoke like that. The onyx eyes examining the girl's features carefully.

It didn't look like Sakura he knew.

"So what's your role?" He asked, his voice a little hoarse from lack of use.

Sakura swallowed hard and faced the horizon again, unconsciously her hand went to the opening of her black vest touching the chain of the cord she always left concealed.

"One I never thought I would play." She replied mysteriously, lost in thought.

Sasuke waited in silence for a clearer answer, but the kunoichi seemed to have returned to the world of the moon.

He wanted to get inside her mind and unravel all the mysteries she had.

"Why did you bring me along?" She asked suddenly.

Sasuke looked away at the horizon.

"You have a tracker and two ninjas that extraordinary skills, it doesn't look like I add anything."

"Are you saying that you're weak?" He mocked.

The kunoichi's expression hardened and she took a more upright posture.

"I know my abilities, but you made it very clear that I have no room in your way as an avenger of your clan."

Sasuke pressed his lips together, as if trying to stop the words from coming out. His eyebrows were knit together, and his hesitant gaze showed the conflict of ideas running through his head.

"I'm not going to leave anyone else precious for me to die especially in Akatsuki's hands." He swallowed hard, averting his gaze away from her. "If Naruto can't protect you now, I will."

Sakura stared at him, studying Sasuke's face closely.

She knew exactly which person he was referring to by saying Akatsuki.

"You said that before, but you didn't wait to hear my answer." Sakura stood up, facing the branch where Sasuke was. "Thank you for wanting to protect me, but I'm not the little girl you left unconscious in that bank, Sasuke ..." They stared at each other intensely. "I made my own choices and I can't go with you."

Sasuke joined his eyebrows more angry at her words, no, more than just angry, he was furious when Sakura turned her back on him and started running away from him.

Without thinking twice, he fired behind her using his super speed to catch up after a while.

"Sakura!" He growled at her name.

The girl hesitated for a moment, surprised that Sasuke had come after her. Her hesitation had been for a moment, but that was enough for Sasuke to catch up.

The Uchiha pulled her by the arm, spinning her, pinning her against the trunk of a tree. His arms formed a prison around her, his cheek brushing hers, his gasping breaths mingling.

Sakura was paralyzed with Sasuke's sudden approach and the pressure of his body on hers. The bodies were so glued together that Sakura could feel his face drop a little, lightly brushing her nose against the girl's skin, felt his breathing move as Sasuke breathed in the scent of her skin.

"Stay ..." he asked weakly, she could hear the struggle between the words that wanted to leave and his pride. "Let me protect you ..." he said, his voice breaking in the end.

He pushed his face away enough to face the girl's green eyes.

Bright greens stared at the dark onyx eyes.


	12. New member

**Notes:**

 **SORRY GUYS, NOW THE RIGHT CHAPTER!**

I don't know what happen, maybe a problem on the doc manager? I don't know.

Lyndyloowho: Who would have courage to refuse Sasuke asking like that?

Malyss64: Thank you!

Theselfproclaimedgreatest7: In the others sites that I posted, people prefer dashes, but if it's easier for you guys I don't see any problem.

AnymeEverywhere: From now on, I will keep the quotation marks. It's no big deal for me to change that. Sasuke is being really cute, isn't? I don't Sakura, but I wouldn't say no after he asks something in that way. I love Juugo 3

Let's go to the chapter!

Sakura gasped still looking into his onyx eyes, eyes that remember her a certain person who had eyes just like his. Unable to deal with the pressure of keeping the eye contact, Sakura looked down at the floor.

She couldn't face him, she felt like a worm standing there like that. Sasuke had never opened up so much, had never let anyone approach that way, if he knew what she had done, with who she had been ...

Shee felt a burning in the pit of her stomach as her conscience screamed the traitorous word in his head.

She swallowed dryly and Sasuke felt instantly.

Confused by the girl's bodily reaction, Sasuke undid the prison of arms that held the girl to the tree. Sakura was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice the Uchiha's movements.

"Sasuke, I ..." She swallowed hard, feeling her throat close. " I don't…"

"Please, Sakura." He interrupted, seeing that she was going to give a negative answer. "At least stay until you get better." Suggested appealing to her medical side.

Sakura sighed, closing her eyes. She didn't know why Sasuke was pushing so hard for her to stay, damn it, why did he have to start caring right now?

"I..."

Sasuke caught her chin, lifting her face. As soon as the green eyes connected to him, as if hypnotized, Sasuke brought his face close to hers, looking away at her rosy lips. He swallowed dryly and stroked her lower lip with his thumb.

The moment between the two was interrupted when Sasuke sensed the presence of other chakras approaching.

"Sasuke! Sakura!" Suigetsu shouted, and the two of them shuffled quickly and a little roughly.

The two had barely distanced themselves as the figures of Suigetsu and Karin appeared beside them.

Suigetsu looked suspicious at Sasuke and Sakura, opened a wicked smile. Karin narrowed her eyes at the girl and approached Sasuke, like an animal marking territory.

"I was worried something had happened." she said to Sasuke, showing that her concern was limited to the well being of Sasuke, just him.

Sasuke looked uninterestingly at the redhead as she checked him for some bruise or something wrong.

"So, Pinky, are you staying?" Suigetsu asked approaching, getting closer than Sakura thought was tolerable for a person who wasn't close to her.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows a little, seeing the suspicious attitudes of the white-haired ninja.

Sakura looked down at the floor, running her hand across her other forearm, looking ashamed.

"Yes, I think so," she replied with a shy smile.

Suigetsu's mischievous grin grew and he looked away from the girl for a moment, looking at Sasuke. Curious about what had happened between them while they were alone.

"Let's go." he said suddenly throwing an arm over the girl's shoulders. Sakura's eyes widened with his action. "Juugo is worried that he said something that made you run away from us." He laughed as he pulled the girl toward their camp.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and followed the two with Karin at his side.

The way to the camp was all filled up by Suigetsu's voice that insisted on bringing up a subject with Sakura who always responded politely, but they were usually vague and only fueled his curiosity. Behind the two speakers followed Sasuke and Karin in complete silence, the Uchiha watched closely the interaction between the kunoichi from Konoha and his teammate while Karin faced Sasuke, as always.

Juugo stood up as soon as the girl was back, opening a lively smile for her. Sakura returned the gesture.

"I'm glad you decided to come back." He said as she approached.

Sakura shook her head.

"At least until I'm totally recovered." She said raising her bandaged arm.

Sasuke was passing by the two and stared at Sakura when she said that.

He knew it was only a matter of days before she was fully recovered, which was a very short time compared to what Sasuke really wanted her to be, but at least she would have a few days, and maybe, if he insisted the right way, she could influence her to stay by definitive.

They gathered around the campfire and had dinner, it was late and after the little confusion Sakura had made, they were tired. Karin was the first to leave, soon after Suigetsu, Sasuke went to perimeter around the camp, leaving only Juugo and Sakura at the stake.

Sakura didn't know where she could sleep so she sat at the fire, Juugo was at her side. By what she understood, Juugo would take the round after Sasuke.

She laid her body in a fetal position, using her arm as a pillow.

"You're not going to sleep there, are you?" Juugo asked as Sakura closed her eyes, shrinking more as she tried to warm herself up. "Sasuke has prepared a bed for you."

Sakura opened a thread of her eyes, she was dying of sleep, but what Juugo said had caught her attention.

"There." He pointed to a mat near the fire, but away from where Suigetsu and Karin were lying.

Sakura lifted her body, resting her good arm on the floor. And she raised her eyebrows in confusion as she saw her makeshift bed already made.

Why he would have…

Juugo grinned at the sight of the confused expression on her face. The medical ninja sighed, shaking her head.

"It's not every day that he does something like that." Juugo said when Sakura made mention of lying down agan, ignoring the bed that Sasuke had made.

She just shook her head, showing that she had heard.

"Sakura..." Juugo called the kunoichi." Accept the good deed." He asked with a smile.

Sakura looked at him for a few seconds before sighing and crawling to her makeshift bed.

"Make it clear that I'm only accepting it because I know you wouldn't leave me alone if I didn't accept." She mumbled the answer as she ducked under the covers.

Juugo gave a muffled laugh, shaking his head.

Sakura slept at the sound of the crackling fire and the smell of smoke, something like smoked oak, and woke up with the sound of the birds awakening.

Even awake, Sakura didn't move or even opened her eyes.

She felt poor inside.

There she was, lying on a bed Sasuke had the thought of doing to make her sleep comfortably, he had so insistently asked her to stay ... What would he think when he found out what she was doing with Itachi?

She sighed and opened her eyes, feeling the bottom of her eyes burn with the light. She blinked several times until her vision became fully focused and when the image cleared, she widened her eyes at seeing Sasuke lying not too far from her, if she stretched her arm could reach him.

Sakura admired him for some time without making any movement that would put the Uchiha on alert and wake him up.

He seemed to be at peace, he seemed to be free from all that obsession with his brother and all the weight of having to avenge his clan.

That should be the only time he could have a bit of tranquility so Sakura would try to extend that moment to the fullest.

As quiet as she could, she got up to clean her bed and stepped away from the Uchiha, to not wake him.

Last night's bonfire had turned to ashes so Sakura decided to go around in the woods to make fire and other things to make breakfast.

At least to thank the makeshift bed Sasuke had made for her.

It took a little longer than she thought she would take, but as soon as she got all the necessary things back. Arriving there in time to see a furious Sasuke pacing from side to side, a sleepy Juugo trying to accompany the brunette with his eyes, but with each blink it seemed that he was sleeping more than awake. Suigetsu didn't even pretend to be awake to accompany Sasuke's attack, he was all thrown over Juugo's shoulder as he sat, Karin must be on watch.

Sakura frowned at the three of them.

"Did something happen?" She asked hesitantly, approaching to the fire, her arms busy with the things she had come for.

Sasuke turned his body to her and by the way he looked at her, Sakura knew that Sasuke was too close to activate the Sharingan.

She knit her eyebrows at the side of the fire, set the things on the floor. Clearly not minding the attack Sasuke was making.

"Where were you?" He asked between his teeth, not liking the calm Sakura had.

Sakura tilted her head to the side, not understanding yet why he was so upset.

"I went to get some food for breakfast." She pointed to the fruits and other things she had picked up.

Sasuke joined his eyebrows, looking away at things on the floor, seeming to notice only now what she was bringing.

"You thought I was gone?" Shee asked without looking at the Uchiha, beginning to prepare breakfast.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Yesterday you were leaving without telling anyone, I wake up today and you're not there, tell me, who wouldn't think that?"

Sakura stopped what she was doing and looked at Sasuke, winking lazily.

"If I really wanted to leave, I'd be gone a long time." She said quietly and smiled at the end.

Sasuke's brows drew together.

His abilities were always superior to hers, after all, he possessed the Sharingan and all other techniques unique to the Uchiha clan. What made her sure she could escape him if she tried to run away? What did Sakura always seem to be hiding?

He said nothing else, walked to Sakura's makeshift bed, which was close to where the girl was and sat in meditation position.

Suigetsu watched them both from a distance, had awakened awhile, but preferred to just watch their conversation. Seeing how much the girl could do with the Uchiha with so little.

A not innocent smile appeared on his lips already imagining the confusion that would arise.

"It just got more and more interesting."


	13. Coming back

**Notes:**

 _Hiiiii, how u feeling today?_

 _Twisted Musalih: Thank you!_

 _Thymoondragon: Happy to see you here! Fortunately, things got better here, I hope you get better too. Things are not always easy, but sometimes it happens good things._

 _AnimeEverywhere: I'm tortured you with this non-kiss, my bad hahaha Suigetsu always show up in the best moments. And honey, guess who is back in this chapter?_

 _Let's go to the chapter! (I'm really excited with this one)_

* * *

They set up camp and continued on their way, only stopping at dusk to rest and like that they passed the next four days. After experiencing Sakura's food Suigetsu asked Sakura to also make the dinner

They had just set up the camp when Sakura and Juugo went out together to find food and wood for the fire, Sasuke decided to go train and Karin offered to go along, but as usual Sasuke refused.

"Don't say you were upset." Suigetsu said after Karin huffed for the fifth or sixth time. "You know he doesn't like to train with anyone"

Suigetsu was lying on his back under the grass, his arms folded behind his head. Karin sat with her back against the trunk of a tree, in the opposite direction Suigetsu lay.

"I'm not angry about it."

Suigetsu looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"So it's about Sakura."

Karin sent him an angry look. Suigetsu turned his body, lying on his side, put his elbow on the ground and rested his face on his hand.

"No need to be jealous, little redhead." He mocked.

Karin let out a forced laugh, tossing her head back and forth.

"You think I'm jealous of that thing?" She let out another forced laugh. "It's only embarrassing how you guys can't resist a skirt."

"You offend me." He said, putting his hand on his chest, pretending to be offended.

The redhead rolled her eyes, adjusting her glasses.

"Fuck you, you know I'm right." She said, raising one eyebrow. " _Sakura-chan, how cool are you?" 'Sakura-chan, make my dinner please!' 'Sakura-chan, don't go!'_ "She said in a thin voice, mimicking Suigetsu's requests.

Suigetsu let out a forced laugh and lifted his finger from the middle to the girl.

"Fuck you, you naughty bitch." He spat the words. "You're dying of envy because Sasuke pays more attention to her than he ever did to you."

Karin grunted, getting up at the same time ready to leave on her teammate.

"You two, stop." Sasuke said emerging into the clearing where they had set up camp.

Karin took a deep breath, grinding her teeth. Making an effort, she put a forced smile on her face that looked more like a grimace.

Sasuke ignored the present tension and sat between the two in front of the muffled campfire in meditation position.

It didn't take too long until Sakura and Juugo returned, laughing at some private joke. The major carried much of the wood and food, letting Sakura carry some fruit.

The smile on Sakura's face died as she realized the tension in the room. Without comment, she went to the makeshift table and put the fruit she carried. Juugo went to the fire and straightened the woods, creating the fire.

Sakura went to him to help with dinner preparation. Sasuke silently watched them work, Suigetsu, who had gone back to bed, hummed in a low voice with closed eyes.

"Do you think it's a problem for me to train a little later?" She asked Juugo. "I feel like I'm a little rusty after so many days." She ran her hand over the back of her neck, stretched her neck to the sides, her neck snap.

Juugo smiled at the girl.

"As long as you promise not try another escape, I see no problem." He replied humorously.

Sakura smiled back.

"Can you come with me? It's annoying to train alone."

Juugo looked down at the floor, Sasuke saw his Adam's apple stirring as he swallowed it dry. The good humor he had before had been replaced by palpable tension.

"It's not a good idea to train with me."

Sakura frowned, confused.

"It's going to be just a light training, let's not risk too much." She tried to comfort him.

Suigetsu's high, mocking laughter broke into their conversation.

"Haven't you understood yet, Pinky?" He lifted his trunk until he was seated. "He's a fucking demonic time bomb." He pointed to Juugo, who was listening to everything with his head down.

Sakura tugged her eyebrows together more irritably at the way Suigetsu treated Juugo's problem.

The orange-haired man gripped the girl's forearm, making her look away from Suigetsu's deadly gaze and glance hesitantly at him.

"He's right, Sakura." He said with a weak smile. "It's not safe to test my limits."

She bit her lower lip still hesitantly.

In the midst of that whole situation, Juugo had become a very close person to her. Always very considerate, he always wanted to see her well and all this she knew they were without ulterior motives, had an innocence that somehow reminded her of Naruto.

"If you really want to train, I'll go with you." Sasuke said suddenly.

The other four looked at the Uchiha in surprise. Sasuke continued to stare at her, still in a position of meditation.

A mischievous grin was born on Suigetsu's lips and he looked in Karin's direction, the girl's eyes were wide as a fish, and her face was as red as chili.

She stand up at the same minute..

"You just returned from training." She said with a false commotion. "I'll go with her."

Sakura looked at her with both raised eyebrows and even Sasuke directed his gaze to the redhead.

"Er, I ..." Sakura blinked in surprise and confusion. "It's fine by me." She agreed, still rather confused and surprised.

Karin forced a smile and joined her hands, squeezing hard. By far they could see that she was trying her best to control herself.

"Can I go too?" Suigetsu said getting into the conversation. "I love watching two girls fight." He said maliciously and leaned toward the kunoichi from Konoha. "Preferably in a bath filled with gel". He licked his lower lip.

Sakura grimaced, but to the general surprise, she let out a loud laugh and then couldn't stop.

"Suigetsu! Don't say that sort of thing, we have girls here." Juugo fought.

The white-haired man rolled his eyes.

After dinner, the two got ready and headed to a further area. Sakura stared at the redhead from the corner of her eye, suspicious of Karin's sudden good deed.

"Here" Karin threw a pair of black gloves very similar to the one Sakura wore earlier and left in hiding.

Sakura thanked her with a nod.

The two put themselves in a position of attack, Karin was the first to advance Sakura deflected effortlessly.

"You know, I was even touched after everything you said in our first conversation." Karin said without ceasing to attack, the pair of kunais in their hands danced looking at any part of Sakura's body.

Sakura squeezed her jaws non-stop from the redhead's attacks. In one of the attacks, she swerved to the left and grabbed the redhead's arm before she picked it up, still holding her arm, Sakura whirled around and hurled Karin into the trees.

The redhead went through some trees and finally stopped.

"I thought you were smarter, my dear." Karin said in a venomous tone rising, still a bit stung. "Why do you think Sasuke makes such a big deal about you staying?" She asked, cocking her head to the side, a mocking smile.

Sakura swallowed hard and stepped back.

"You know, you're a smart girl". Karin approached like a snake preparing to take the boat. Sakura took another step back. "After all, it was you who said he would do anything to get his revenge on his brother." She stopped in front of Sakura. "Even to use a silly girl as bait for Akatsuki."

Sakura swallowed dry, her throat felt completely closed, her green eyes burning with the tears she kept from falling, she took a deep breath and looked away.

Karin was right, that had already passed through her mind, but she had to admit that she completely ignored it. She didn't want to believe that Sasuke would be so low and would use his former teammate's love for such a cruel purpose.

She remembered all the moments since she had re-encountered him, how his behavior had changed after Deidara and Sasori showed up to take her. Her incurable romantic side made her believe that this change had been for fear of losing her.

She grunted.

In a few days she'd been back to that 13-year-old idiot girl ignored by a boy who wanted nothing to do with her.

And now he was using her feelings.

Sakura laughed through her nose, shaking her head.

"Karin? Sakura?" Juugo appeared among the trees, confused to see the two girls standing so close.

"Did something happen?" Karin asked as if the previous conversation had no importance.

Juugo looked away from her to Sakura, becoming worried to see the cold expression on the face of the girl.

"It's late, we'll leave early tomorrow, Sasuke wants to go to the nearest village to get more supplies."

Sakura turned her face away from them at the name of the Uchiha.

"Oh, alright, we're done, aren't we, Sakura-chan?" Karin said with a false sympathy.

The girl nodded weakly and Karin opened her smile even more, left the place beckoning briefly to Juugo.

The orange-haired one approached Sakura who was still standing in the same place.

"Sakura?" He reached up to touch her, but Sakura took her arm out of his touch.

Juugo raised his eyebrows at the ninja.

"Let's go before Sasuke comes to hunt me." She said with a certain tone of contempt and left the place without waiting for Juugo.

By the time the two of them returned to the camp, Karin was already lying down and Suigetsu was already snoring low, Sasuke waiting for them, sitting in his sleeping bag next to Sakura's.

Sakura went to sit by the fire completely ignoring the look of Sasuke, the Uchiha then turned his attention to Juugo. The taller one shrugged, showing that he also didn't know why Sakura's behavior had changed so suddenly.

Sasuke sighed low, trying to guess what Karin might have done.

"Sakura, if Karin..." Sakura interrupted what Juugo was going to say.

"Karin didn't do anything to me." She said still staring at the fire.

Juugo looked away at Sasuke before looking back at the girl.

"You'd better go to sleep, we'll get up early tomorrow." Juugo suggested.

She gave a slight nod, continuing to stare at the fire.

Juugo and the Uchiha exchanged a look, talking through the eyes decided they would not press the girl.

"Sakura-chan?" Juugo said sleepily, still lying down.

Sasuke had stayed the night of watch and Juugo finished sleeping, the girl was still standing in the same place now facing the ashes of what had already been the fire.

"I'm leaving, Juugo." She announced without looking at him.

Juugo stood, instantly seated. Sakura stood up.

"Sakura, we ..." He swallowed as he saw a small bag in her hands. "You gave your word!"

She turned her face, looking over her shoulder.

"I gave my word that I would stay until I was recovered." She looked at the bandaged arm.

Juugo tossed the covers aside and stood as well. Their conversation began to disturb the sleep of others.

"Oew." Suigetsu complained, putting an arm over his eyes. "Stop talking so loud."

Juugo ignored the complaint to his friend and went to the girl who was already walking towards the woods, held her forearm.

"Sakura, wait until Sasuke arrives." He asked.

The kunoichi raised an eyebrow with a forced laugh.

"I'm not his property to have to ask permission for anything." She spat the words.

"Sakura..." Juugo said her name as a request still without letting go of her arm.

She took a deep breath, didn't want to have to be rude to him. Juugo didn't deserve it.

"What is going on?" A new voice broke into their conversation.

Juugo and Sakura turned to the new person, Sasuke had just emerged from the woods and looked at them with narrow eyes.

"Sakura, she ..."

"I`m leaving now." She interrupted, without looking at him.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and quickly approached them.

"But you said..."

"I know what I said." She cut him impatiently. "My time has come."

"You can't go now." Sasuke said angrily.

"You're not my owner to tell me what I can or can not do." She snapped, spitting the words out without bothering to sound rude.

Juugo's eyes widened and both Suigetsu and Karin sat down, interested in the conversation.

"I don't know what happened, but you don't seem to be thinking straight." Sasuke looked at Juugo and the older man understood the signal, going behind the girl as a barrier so she would not run away. "Let's talk..."

Sakura shook her head.

"You're not keeping your word." She waggled her index finger at him.

"I'm just trying to keep you safe." He said angry.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, with a debauched posture.

"Really?" She let out a forced laugh. "Because I think I've never stopped being a prisoner here."

Sasuke snorted irritably.

"Are you going crazy ?!"

"Instead of a cell and bars, you said a sweet word or two and thought it would convince me to stay until you got what you wanted." She accused, her green eyes glittering with anger.

"Sakura, please calm down." Juugo pronounced himself, looking at the girl pleadingly.

"I don't want to calm down!" She replied between her teeth and pointed at Sasuke. "This son of a bitch is using me as bait for Akatsuki." She accused.

Sasuke clasped his eyebrows shut, and Juugo looked shocked.

"Oh-uh, Pinky's crazy." Suigetsu commented laughing.

They all ignored him.

"I'm sure if we talk ..."

"Get out of my way, Juugo." She interrupted him trying to get past him.

"Juugo!" Sasuke said the name like an order and the ninja put itself again in her way.

"Please, Juugo."

The older man shook his head.

"I can't let you go like this."

Shel sighed, lowering her head.

"And I'm sorry for that."

And in the next instant , her hands, covered in a green light, held Juugo's head. Juugo's eyes widened as the green light in her hands shone brighter.

"What is she…" Suigetsu rose at once.

Sakura's green eyes shone brightly in a frightening way, and then Juugo's body began to mutate. His muscles swelled and his skin became gray, the whites of his eyes painted black and an animal sound came from the back of his throat.

Sakura was releasing Juugo's inner demon.

"Karin, Suigetsu, fast!" Sasuke shouted to his teammates who stepped into defense.

Sakura pulled her hands away from Juugo when the transformation was completed, her eyes returning to the evergreen green.

She whispered an apology to his friend, who ignored her apology, and turned away from the first punch he gave in retribution. Juugo's punch hit the ground creating a cloud of dust, seized it, and fled without looking back.

She didn't stop at any moment, nor to sleep at night, she didn't slow down, she went on zing-zagging without stopping for three days until finally finding what she wanted.

"You look _awful,_ you know that?" Hidan said when Sakura found him in a cave near the village of sound.

Sakura took a deep breath, slowly leaning against the wall of the cave, her legs trembling in pain over the long journey without pauses. No strength even to really give the answer that Hidan deserved, so she just directed an ugly look at him.

He let out a nasal laugh and approached the girl, wrapping his arms around the girl, hugging her.

"Come on, I'll take you home."

She nodded, depositing her weight on him, accepting his embrace and extinguished it, not having any strength at all.

She woke up some time later, wondering if she was being carried on the back of someone recognizing her white hair as belonging to Hidan.

"Hey, wake up." Hidan said, running his hands down her leg.

Hidan could be an asshole sometimes, but he also knew how to be nice sometimes.

"Wake up , my back hurts."

Sometimes, _almost neve_ r.

She grunted out of his back.

"Go to hell, Hidan." She grumbled past him.

Her muscles still ached and she was still very tired and hungry, but she couldn't do that later. She walked through the corridors until she reached the room she wanted, and with her heart in her hand she opened the door.

The room was almost total darkness, she only could distinguish a few things with the faint moonlight coming from the windows. Without fear, she entered the room and went to the very end stopping by where she knew there was a big bed.

"Tadaima, Itachi-kun." She said, kneeling beside the bed.

A pale hand stepped out of the moonlit shadows and went against her delicate face, caressing the spot.

"Okaeri, Sakura." The owner of the vibrant red eyes answered.


	14. Itachi

**Notes:**

 _How you doing? Did u like Itachi's return? I know many of you waited for this._

 _Mysterious guess: Thank you!_

 _Malyss64: Thank you 3_

 _Emika Tongnate: There he is! We missed you, Itachi!_

 _Thymoondragon: Itachi is back!_

 _Lets go to another chapter!_

* * *

Sakura closed her eyes, laying her face on the palm of his cold hand. They were both silent, standing there like that for some minutes.

Itachi lifted his other hand and carried it across her face, holding it with both hands. She opened her eyes again, feeling the gentle touch of the older Uchiha on her cheeks, caressing them.

"How are you doing?" He asked, his voice hoarse and drawn, failing at his lack of use.

Sakura took her hand to his, which was on her face, and covered his. Caressing the same.

"It's me who should ask that." She said with a smile playing in the corners of her lips." How are you?"

She felt the older Uchiha hesitate.

She brought the other hand up to her face, now holding both his hands, feeling them cold. She concentrated her chakra on her hands, the green glow wrapped both his hands and hers, his green glow illuminating the room, taking Itachi's face from the shadows that hid him.

He had the same old-fashioned expression that many confused with indifference, but Sakura learned to interpret it as a mask that Itachi used to hide what he really felt. The sadness and emptiness in his onyx eyes, the same as his brother's, now she could see clearly.

"I feel the same."

She released one of his hands and brought it to his pale face, lighting it.

"I should have come back sooner." She said in an anguished voice when she saw Itachi's condition.

Her throat tightened as she saw the onyx eyes were now almost frosted.

"How's he doing?"

Itachi didn't have to name the person, Sakura knew very well who he meant.

She looked down at the floor, remembering the moments she'd spent by Sasuke's side. It was like throwing salt into an open wound on her chest, but she kept no tear or expression of pain from reaching her face.

She didn't want to disappoint Itachi, even though he, more than anyone else, would understand her dilemma with Sasuke.

"The same." She answered his question. "Okay, healthy, getting stronger by the minute, you would be proud of how strong his Sharingan is." She smiled as she remembered how Sasuke controlled Juugo when he was out of control.

"You think he's ready?"

Sakura sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sasuke believes that the only way to become strong, to have his revenge, is by severing his ties with everyone."

Itachi lowered his face, his hair forming a black curtain, hiding his expression.

She could see in the way he acted that the Uchiha felt guilty about his brother's behavior and, in a way, it was, but after so many years of seeing him as a villain when Sakura finally knew his side of the story, she saw him as another victim of the massacre of the Uchiha clan.

Like Atlas carrying the weight of the world, a victim who carried too much weight to his shoulders.

His hands dripped the blood of the people he loved and the person he had done all this, hated him.

Feeling her muscles throb, she forced herself into motion and sat down next to Itachi on the bed.

"I have to give you something back."

He raised his eyebrows together.

Sakura brought her hands up to her neck, pulling out the lanyard she had hidden as much as she could in the last few days.

"Here". She lifted the cord, leaving the ring of Itachi's Akatsuki at the level of his face.

Itachi joined his eyebrows, a small wrinkle formed.

"You should have thrown it out if he had seen-"

"He didn't see." She assured him. "You gave it to me, I couldn't just throw it away." She smiled, taking the ring from the cord and replacing it in its place of origin, on the ring finger of Itachi's right hand.

"You risked yourself too much." He hesitated. "I don't care about the ring, you should have put your safety first."

Sakura smiled and tilted her head to the side.

"But I care." Shee said slowly, squeezing his hand once more before releasing her.

Itachi sighed, shaking his head. He raised his hand up the girl's arm, lifting it up to eye level, noticing the band that covered her arm.

Sakura tried to pull her arm back, but Itachi held it tighter, holding her back.

"What ..." He touched the banners hesitantly. "Sasuke did that?" Itachi asked, his voice dark.

"No," she replied quickly, wanting to clear things up as quickly as possible. Itachi turned his gaze to her face with a hidden request for explanation." When Deidara and Sasori were behind me, they ended up coming into conflict with Sasuke and I ended up being hit by a clay bomb."

" Baka." He spat the curse on Akatsuki's mate.

Sakura grimaced, spinning her wrist, took his hand.

"Don"t worry." She assured . "I just need some time and I'm going to be brand-new."

He was still frowning at her, probably even cursing the blond with thoughts.

"You need to rest."

"But you..."

"When you're rested, we think about it." he said as an order.

Sakura gave a lazy smile, nodding slightly.

She didn't object, her whole body ached. For her, she would lie anywhere and sleep the rest of the week, both her body and her mind were exhausted.

"Do I still have a room, or have they turned into some Deidara and Sasori atelier yet?" She teased.

Itachi curled his lips in a kind of smile.

"Rest here today, if you go to your room, you won't have peace with so many visitors."

She shrugged, suddenly shy.

"Don't want to disrupt."

Itachi smiled from the corner of his mouth, he pushed Sakura by the shoulder until she lay on the bed.

"Take a rest." he ordered.

Sakura let out a low laugh and nodded, bringing her legs up onto the bed, but leaving the shoes out.

Itachi took off his cloak and laid it on the girl.

"Take a rest." He said, smoothed the cloak with red clouds, ran a hand through her pink hair.

Sakura gave a weak smile, closing her eyes, settled herself in bed.

"Thank you, Itachi-kun." She whispered before falling asleep.

She didn't had dream, she was too tired for that. It simply erased and gave a little rest to her precious mind.

She woke up a few hours later with voices in the background.

"For Kami, if you open your mouth again I'll punch you in the face."

"Dei-kun, you're too dense." She heard Tobi say in a moan.

She heard a crash, something like metal banging on something. Deidara had probably beaten Tobi with a silver cane that Sakura used to pour tea.

She moaned as she stretched, her muscles complaining, asking for a few more hours of rest, but she knew that if she heard her lazy side she wouldn't get out of bed anytime soon.

The weather had turned and now it was colder than it was before, she searched for something blanket, but only found the cover of Itachi. Not thinking he would mind, she put on the black cloak.

Still a little lazy, she left the room. She walked down the corridor, following the voices, reached the living room where some of Akatsuki's most wanted and feared members were.

They were scattered around the room, Hidan was sitting in an armchair, isolated reading a book, Sasori and Deidara was on the big couch, the blonde growled angrily as he kicked Tobi away from him, the redhead looked indifferently at their confusion.

Kisame and Itachi were sitting on another couch, Kisame laughed openly every time Tobi was kicked.

"You finally woke up, pinky". Hidan said mockingly.

All attention was drawn to the girl, who leaned against the doorway that divided the hallway. She shrugged, stunned by so many glances.

"Sakura-chan!" Tobi shouted excitedly, seeming to forget Deidara's foot in his face.

She smiled and went to the sofa where Itachi and Kisame were, sitting on the arm of the sofa on the side where Itachi was. The Uchiha put his arm around her.

"I thought Itachi had joined the Uchiha fashions and made you a prisoner in his bedroom." Deidara pinned him.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at him.

"Stop being a dick, you're just jealous that she didn't talk to you when she arrived." Hidan scoffed at him and threw a pack of food at the blond.

"Asshole." Deidara spat the words, releasing Tobi to advance on Hidan, but Sasori's next speech stopped him.

"What happened to your arm?"

Itachi lightly shook the kunoichi's waist.

"She burned herself with one of your teammate's clay bombs." He said menacing and Sakura felt the chakra change in him.

Itachi didn't look at her, but Sakura could see from the corner of her eye that his Sharingan was on.

She put her hand over his.

Deidara knit his brows, swallowing dry.

"Sakura ..." He looked down. "When we saw you falling, we wanted to turn, but the baby Uchiha ..."

"It wasn't your fault." She interrupted him. "I set myself up so that Sasuke didn't suspect anything, it was nothing, no need to worry." She gave a small smile.

"Ah, Sakura-chan! Get well soon!" Tobi ran to her, tried to pull her into a hug, but Itachi with one look made Tobi pull away.

"We want improvements, blah-blah-blah." Hidan rolled his eyes, impatient with the conversation.

Sakura laughed, mentally thanking for Hidan to break the mood that had formed.

She didn't want Deidara to blame herself for what had happened, when she had planned for it to happen.

"Thinking of joining the squad?" Kisame commented by calling attention to the fact that she is wearing the Akatsuki's clothers.

Sakura widened her eyes a little, crossing her arms trying to hide the huge cloud that was printed right in front of her. Which was very ridiculous since the cover had several prints.

"Stop talking shit, fish." Kisame glared at Hidan. "Look at her, do you think she would wear the cloak one day? One thing is it here, with us, another is to be hunt every time you hit the street."

"Hidan ..." Sakura interrupted what Deidara was going to say.

"No, he's right." She said with a smile that seemed forced. "I'm here to help Itachi, I'm fully aware that I don't belong to Akatsuki, my job is to save lives and I have no intention of changing to join you." She let out the hint. She wasn't naive to forget why they were criminals with just a few kind words. "If you'll excuse me." She bowed slightly and stood up.

She lowered the zipper completely, taking off her cloak and dropping it onto the sofa where she had sat before. Regardless of whether her clothing was completely ripped, or if she was almost naked, she left the room.


	15. Black marks

**Notes:**

 _Hi everyone! Did you miss me? Ahahahah_

 _Now I'm back and promise that I'll update more frequently._

 _Malyss64: I'm back with more!_

 _Emika Tongnate: I always try to reply, it's a pleasure talking to you guys_

 _AnimeEverywhere: It is confusing, isn't it? I love their relationship and I'll explore more of it. Yes, it is something chronical. Itachi gave her his ring so that if she was captured, whoever caught her would know tha she was under Akatsuki's protection._

 _Now, let's go to another chapter._

* * *

After a long shower and one more treatment session on her burns, she went to her old room.

Her things were still in the same place, her bedroom had only one single bed and a dresser where she kept her things. It was a simple room, but the factor that made Sakura really like it was the design of a cherry tree that covered the wall that Sasori had made for her.

He was a true artist, the branches, the petals falling, all the delicacy he could convey with just a few brushstrokes was incredible.

She sighed, staring at Sasori's cherry tree made her felt guilty for talking like that. She didn't want to look ungrateful, but when she heard Hidan speak that way, diminishing her strength, her ability, she simply let her anger speak louder.

She turned her back on the painting and went to get dressed, grabbing her black shorts and a dark red shirt, no sleeves with zipper on the front and the edges with a black ribbon, with a fishnet sweater underneath that came down to her elbow.

She wasn't in the mood to go out and face any of them, but she couldn't escape her obligations.

She was already prepared to leave the room when she heard a knock on her door. After allowing the entrance, she saw the door open and Itachi appeared with his usual calm.

He said nothing, just stared at her.

"I was already going after you." She said as she walked to the door. "We can start now if you want."

Itachi's eyebrows knit together, before nodding and giving her room to pass.

The two of them went to the bathroom, Sakura filled the tub while Itachi undressed getting his pants on.

"I think the temperature is ... Itachi!" She exclaimed shocked as she turned and saw the great dark purple mark, almost black, on the side of his abdomen covering the entire area and following inside his pants where it was capped.

His morbid pallor made the stain look like black skin, his veins stood out like greenish lines.

It was as if the black mark was sucking the life out of his skin.

Sakura approached and cautiously raised her hand toward the spot, but she didn't pull over, hesitating as Itachi contracted his muscles and reflexes moved away from her. She didn't have to ask to know that Itachi must be dying of pain.

"I should have come back sooner." She said, swallowing the dryness, feeling the guilt of setting there, suffocating her.

Itachi turned his face in the opposite direction.

"Don't talk like I'm on my deathbed." He grunted, still not looking at her.

The girl approached, placing her hands on his neck, rose to his face, holding him by the sides, she made the deserting ninja and sought to look.

"Itachi, this isn't a joke." She looked away for a moment, still guilty, and looked at him again. "I should have come when Sasori and Deidara came after me."

"No." He broke off the girl's wandering, holding her hand on his face. "If Sasuke is under the curse of the Uchihas, as I think he is, he would kill you."

Sakura looked at him earnestly, straight into the onyx eyes just like his brother's before sighing, giving up.

"Come on, the sooner we get started, better."

Itachi nodded and, with the girl's help, went to the bathtub she had prepared to enter, the water murky and had a strong smell that soothed him. Sakura went behind him, sitting on a bench behind him. Itachi moved closer, leaving his back to her.

She started a sequence of seals and on the final seal her hands gained a green glow, she placed her hands on his back and close her eyes. She felt Itachi's muscles intend, but she couldn't do anything, she couldn't be delicate, her hands entered his skin.

Itachi let out a moan of pain between his teeth as Sakura's hands reached the black spot. Sakura narrowed her eyes, closing them harder before her eyes widened. There were no white parts or irises, her eyes glowed neon green, the black mark drained from Itachi's skin and rose through the girl's arms, infecting and making her veins black.

This whole process was painful not just for him, but for her too, but in spite of Itachi's gasps of pain, she didn't stop until Itachi was completely free of the mark.

At last, gently, she withdrew her hands from his body and Itachi let out a relieved sigh. The girl's body sagged on the bench, tired and completely depleted of chakra, she felt her limbs tremble.

Sakura straightened herself in her chair, trying to recover as quickly as possible so that Itachi didn't suspect. Her eyes returned to normal but were blurred by fatigue. Itachi kept still in the tub and Sakura knew it was because his body was aching from the session.

They had never had such an aggressive session since the first time Sakura had treated him.

"Stay immersed another half hour, it will help you with muscle pain." She said getting up.

Too fast, she had to lean against the tub with dizziness and a strong nausea. She had to control herself not to vomit right there.

Without saying goodbye, she left the bathroom. Feeling suffocated, she ran as fast as she could out of the base without paying attention to the scenery or the possible people she might have crossed and didn't speak of, just stopped walking when she was able to get out of the subterranean tunnels reaching the pure mountain air which surrounded the base.

She leaned her back against the rock on the outer wall, she forced her lungs to expand as much as she could, but it didn't seem to be enough and actually only made her dizzy. When the seasickness was greater than she could bear, she curled her body and closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see all that vomit water coming out.

She moaned in disgust, feeling even more sick when she felt the horrible taste of vomit mixed with rust. She didn't have to open her eyes to know that she had vomited blood.

"He knows?"

Sakura opened her eyes instantly, looking to the side toward the voice of the person finding Tobi climbing a tree branch. She looked down at the floor, feeling her stomach wrap again.

"Does he know that healing him is killing you?" He repeated.

Sakura growled at him, wasn't in the mood to deal with Tobi's second mature personality.

"Itachi knows, what he need to know." She said sharply.

"I doubt he knows that."

Sakura took a deep breath, turning her face in the opposite direction of his, closing her eyes, waiting for her nausea to pass.

"One day the Uchiha's will end up killing you, Sakura."

She sighed, lowering her head.

"Itachi needs me to heal him, but I can't heal him, I can only save him more time."

"Even if it means you're going to die?"

The girl's face wrinkled in disgust.

"He needs me until Sasuke is ready." She sighed, straightening her posture, keeping her back erect, still feeling her head dizzy. "Itachi doesn't have to worry about me, he just needs time, time to ..." She tried to take a step and ended up getting unbalanced, being trimmed by Tobi.

"What if you die before it?"

She swallowed, feeling the mountain winds banging her skin and shaking the trees hard, causing a rain of leaves to fall. A shiver ran through the girl's body and she blamed the wind, even knowing it had nothing to do with her tremors.

Taking a deep breath, she settled on her own feet, freeing herself from Tobi's support.

"I won't die." She said with a forced smile, moved away from him. "Now I have to go, I just remembered that I need to replenish my stock of medicinal herbs." She forced a smile and waved a small bow.

She withdrew as fast as she could.

Tobi continued to stare at the girl's back until the forest covered her and he lost sight of her. His mind was puzzled, and memories soured his thoughts even more when he saw the image of Rin where Sakura had disappeared.

He didn't believe a word the girl had said, especially when she said she wasn't going to die. Tobi activated his Sharingan in search of the girl, finding her chakra standing near a cliff.

Her chakra was still unstable and looked ... stained?

"Where's that bastard ..." Tobi turned off his Sharingan at the sound of Deidara's grunts. "Tobi!"

"Dei-kun!" Tobi said slyly, his childish and irritating personality were back.

Deidara grunted with the hateful nickname.

"We need to go to the village to buy food."

"Are you going with me, Dei-kun?" He clung to the blond's arm, which began to struggle, trying to get rid of the parasite.

He growled shaking harder until Tobi let go.

"Do you know where Sakura went?" Deidara asked looking at the bush. "After the discussion with Hidan I thought that maybe bring her a candy, I don't know." He let out an irritated sigh. "She just returned and he shouldn't have said that.

"Deidara?"

The blonde looked at Tobi, noting the seriousness in the younger member's voice. Tobi stared at the woods, in the direction where he had felt Sakura's chakra for the last time.

"Don't cling to her." He said and began to walk, following the path to the village where they used to buy their groceries.

 ** _Pretty girls die young_** ** _._**

It completed in thought, with the blurred memory of when Rin died and in his mind the image change and instead of the image of his old teammate, Sakura was in her place dead.


	16. Solitary avenger

**Notes:**

 _Hi everyone! How you doing?_

 _Emika Tongnate: I happy to see you here 3_

* * *

The moon was shining in the sky, stealing all the attention of the smaller stars when Sasuke stooped.

"We'll rest here." Sasuke said in his authoritative tone and, being the leader of the group, was immediately obeyed by the others.

The other three members of the Hebi team quickly set up camp on the banks of the small stream that cut through the small valley they crossed. There wasn't parallel conversation, each made its function lost in their own thoughts.

The routine of the Hebi team was basically to travel all day and stop to rest late at night, wake up in the first sunbeam and do it all over again since Sakura had left a few days ago.

The night of the girl's departure was still quite fresh in their minds, well, Juugo only remember part of the night.

No, it wasn't a genjutsu, though he perfectly remembered the horrifying way Sakura's eyes glowed as he felt his body numb and his mind foggy, it was as if she had injected adrenaline into his bloodstream.

It had been too bizarre and reminded him of the time spent in the labs with Kabuto experimenting with him, which had been a shock to him. He never thought that the sweet and mysterious girl Sakura had shown herself could do something like ...

No! Sakura was nothing like Kabuto. Juugo screamed in his thoughts.

Because of his condition, Juugo tried his best to stay out of conflict and in peace, but he couldn't look at Karin without feeling a little angry.

Why the redhead had to do that?

Remembering when he woke the next morning after Sasuke knocked him down with a genjutso, the mood among the companions was tense, as if anything, any sudden movement could begin a battle between them.

Later that day when they were alone, Suigetsu said that after Juugo was unconscious Sasuke went after Karin interrogating her and the redhead ended up telling what she had said to Sakura. The white hair man said that Sasuke almost killed Karin, he had rarely seen the Uchiha so angry that way.

Obviously, Sasuke hadn't killed Karin because, in Sasuke's words, he still needed her skills and if it wasn't for that ... He didn't quite complete the sentence, but the obvious threat was in the air.

She wasn't unharmed, for a girl in love, she won a punishment, the complete indifference of him.

Sasuke naturally wasn't a sociable person and that showed bonds with the people, in fact, he escaped from them, abominated them and always reinforced for the Time Hebi that they were only united by the fact that he needed their abilities.

Karin never cared for Sasuke's apparent indifference, she even thought that it suited her mysterious and sexy face very well, becoming even more in love with him, but she definitely couldn't deal with their new situation.

Sasuke ignored her completely, didn't interact with her, didn't look in her direction, when he spoke to her, it was always quite dry and every time the redhead tried to approach him, Sasuke looked at her with such contempt that it made her feel like a maggot.

Silent as ever, Sasuke stepped away from them, climbing the ravine and sitting cross-legged with his back to them, preparing to meditate.

Juugo watched the Uchiha close his eyes, entering into meditation. Since Sakura had left, that was how Juugo saw Sasuke spend his spare time between his solitary drills and the incessant pursuit of his brother.

Sasuke was always the last to sleep and the first to wake up, had nights Juugo had his doubts whether he had slept or not.

"I'll take it to him." Juugo said after the three of them finished dinner.

Suigetsu let out a grunt, something like "if he wanted to eat, he would come for it." Juugo paid no attention to him, preparing a plate for his fellow. He didn't bother to walk silently, he knew that, despite his closed eyes, Sasuke could feel the vital energy of each living being almost 150 meters from him.

He stopped behind the Uchiha.

"I brought your dinner." he announced after a while.

In the first instant, Sasuke didn't react to Juugo's words, but after a while the Uchiha turned his head to the side, looking at Juugo out of the corner of his eye.

The older one took it as a permission to approach, flexed one knee, knelt, and set the plate beside Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at the plate, slowly recognizing the recipe as one of the ones he ate while he was still on Team 7. His onyx eyes were clouded staring at the plate.

"I hope you enjoy." Juugo said, noticing the ninja's attention on the plate. "They said you liked it with extra tomatoes."

Sasuke blinked, raising his eyebrows together at the same time.

"Sakura..." her name escaped as one whispered through his lips.

Only she could give such particular information.

Juugo nodded, lowering his gaze.

"Before she leave, she-" Juugo shrugged his shoulders, interrupting when he saw the renegade ninja's muscles take aim.

Sasuke said nothing, uncrossed his arms, slowly bringing his hand to the plate, bringing him close.

They say that more than just memories, the taste and smell are marked in your mind like ember on the skin.

He closed his eyes at the taste, and at the same moment his mind carried him to one of the memories he was trying to stifle.

In his memory, he was in a completely different landscape. The valley had been replaced by a rainforest, the vegetation was dense and he couldn't see beyond a few feet in front of him. It was night, but the heat was still great and the humidity only increased, the trees closed around him giving a slight sense of claustrophobia that made him feel the need to get out of there as fast as he could.

Seeking to get out of there, he used the other senses noting the smell of burning. For some reason, he didn't try to be careful, he didn't feel the need for it, something inside him said there was no danger. When the scent grew stronger, Sasuke knew he had come to the scene.

"Get away from me, Naruto!" The girl's angry cry echoed through the small clearing.

Sasuke joined his eyebrows into the clearing, holding his breath at the scene.

Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi were around the small fire. Sakura clenched her teeth and pushed Naruto away with her foot, stepping on his chest, the blond tried anyway to hug the girl. While all the confusion was going on, Kakashi lay on his side reading the damn orange book, oblivious to both of them.

Only when he saw that Sakura and Naruto wearing the same clothes from when they were from Team 7 that Sasuke noticed that he also wore his old clothes.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura exclaimed losing interest in the fight with Naruto.

She opened a huge smile, staring at him with bright green eyes, staring at him as if he were the most important person in the world.

Sasuke shrugged. He never knew how to deal with Sakura's eyes.

"I made dinner." she said all excited, putting the soup in the small pot, putting the extra tomatoes.

He looked at the pot and his mind returned to the present.

Even knowing it was just a memory, his heart clenched as he remembered how the way she looked at him today had changed.

Sasuke closed his eyes, continuing to eat with no hurry.

It wasn't the same thing, Sakura's soup was more beautiful and she saved the tomato a little more.

"Sasuke, why ..." - Juugo started when Sasuke finished eating. "Why didn't you go after her?"

The Uchiha focused his gaze on the tops of the trees that moved in the direction of the wind. His blank expression gave no clues for Juugo to understand what was going through his mind.

Juugo let out an irritated snort.

"You went after her that time, why didn't you go again?" He asked, trying to remain calm, but it was difficult.

Sasuke continued in silence.

Juugo swallowed hard, averting his gaze to the floor. Outraged at Sasuke's lack of explanation.

"Karin has spoken the truth, hasn't she? You were using her as bait." Juugo shook his head in disbelief.

Sasuke grunted, drawing Juugo's attention back to him. He could feel a golden killer and Sasuke's chakra flickering, cranky.

"From the beginning, Sakura never meant to stay." He said bitterly.

Anyone who was little more observant, could the hurt tone in his voice that he didn't want to show.

"Sasuke ..."

"Leave." He ordered authoritatively.

Juugo still spent some time looking at the team leader before accepting his order and leaving him alone.

Sasuke remembered the painful farewell, Sakura said she would stay by his side, said she would be able to do anything for him even leave the village. Sasuke also remembered that he said that he wasn't like them and that they should follow different paths.

He remembered how she ran after releasing the transformation of Juugo without looking back.

She had come after him, all those years, and now, at the first big opportunity to stand beside him, Sakura abandoned him.

Sasuke growled throwing the bowl Juugo had swallowed, even before the bowl came out of his hands Sasuke's uncontrolled chakra made a blast of energy blast the bowl.

If solitary avenger was his way, then he would follow it. He would kill Itachi along with anyone who was with him.


	17. Kamikaze

**Notes:**

 _Hiiiii, how are you? Sorry for the delay in the updates, I wasn't in my best days :/_

 _Emika Tongnate: Yes :/ I curious too, how he's going to react?_

 _Stepahnie: HI! Nice to meet you! I'll update today, hope u like_

* * *

Sakura was leaning over the scrolls about the use of a plant found in the misty country that she'd found in the little library she had in the hiding place.

When Sakura arrived, there wasn't much there that might interest her, but as time went by, the members, in consideration of her, brought a scroll or another to her as they traveled, and now Sakura had a considerable amount.

Several days had passed since Itachi's exhaustive healing session and she was back to normal, or so it seemed.

The black spot didn't appear again in Itachi, but today they would repeat the session as form of prevention so that the situation didn't reach again to extreme levels, she was just waiting for the Akatsuki meeting finish.

She never attended meetings and never felt like participating.

It had formed in her head that the less she knew about their plans, the better. She didn't know how to handle it if she knew something and couldn't use it to help her friends, the guilt that weighed in her heart every time she looked at Itachi and could see Sasuke in the features of his face was enough.

She knew she was being coward for choosing ignorance, but she knew her limits, couldn't help Akatsuki arrest and steal his friends' bijuu.

Taking the risk of being hated forever Sasuke was one thing, now to be hated by him and Naruto ... She wouldn't know how to handle it.

Her reading of the scrolls was interrupted when she heard a crash and a huge chakra spurt manifested in the Akatsuki meeting room.

She stood at the same moment assuming the attacking posture, on alert only relaxing as the chakra moved away from the hiding place. Thinking it would be no problem to approach, she left the room and went to the hallway that would lead to the living room.

Some members passed her leaving the room. Pain and Konan left the room side by side going to the leader's room, Zetsu left shortly afterwards causing Sakura to cringe as he passed.

His two personalities made a shiver run down her spine.

Hidan left as well, agitated what worried her since he was usually the most indifferent of their meetings as they found them really boring.

He seemed a little unresponsive to meet her, eye contact lasted for a moment before glancing down at the floor.

Sakura joined her eyebrows and looked at the door waiting for the others to leave, she had a very bad feeling.

Itachi left the room and at the same time Sakura was sure that her foreboding was right, something bad had happened.

His expression was blank, but she could feel his chakra as dark aura around him.

She approached him, waiting for some response, but Itachi passed her without even looking in the direction toward her. Kisame left, and when he passed her, he lowered his head.

"Kisame?" She asked desperately for information before Kisame left her behind.

The defunct ninja stopped at her call.

"Deidara used his explosive secret technique." He said without turning to face her.

She frowned, noticing now that she didn't feel the chakra either Deidara or Tobi.

"He hurt yourself, is that it? I can..."

"It was a kamikaze technique." He interrupted her. "Deidara turned his body into a bomb."

Sakura swallowed dry, not believing the first instant that Deidara could have done something like that to win a fight.

It was too extreme.

Akatsuki wanted the bijuus, it didn't make sense Deidara to cause a suicidal explosion that could kill the bijuu host together. He wouldn't do that, of course, unless his opponent was really too powerful to have hit him head-on.

"Who was Deidara dueling with?"

Sakura looked at him apprehensively as her heart squeezed even more when Kisame hesitated.

"Sasuke Uchiha." he answered serene and, by the standards of the Akatsuki member, as delicate as he can.

Sakura froze.

It was as if they had drained all her blood, and her legs didn't budge, and she fell to the ground. Like a punch in the stomach, hearing that made her gasp and bend her trunk.

Sasuke ... No.

She narrowed her eyes, closing them tightly. She wouldn't cry. He didn't die.

He couldn't.

Sakura went to Kisame, standing in front of him, forcing him to look at her.

"Are you saying that Deidara committed suicide and killed Sasuke too?"

Kisame stared at the floor, choosing not to answer.

Sakura gritted her teeth, her temper already starting to appear. He swallowed the urge to growl at the blue-skinned ninja.

"You always go out in pairs, who was with Deidara?" she ask.

"Tobi, but we didn't found him either."

She shook her head, her gaze moving from one point to the other trying not to freak out and at the same time put the pieces together.

"Bodies? Did you find any?"

"No, but that doesn't prove anything." He said quickly enough that she didn't cheer herself up. "Deidara's secret technique decimated a period of two kilometers, not a stone left."

"Still, no body." She insisted.

Kisame shook his head negatively, did she pay no attention to what he said?

"Sakura ..."

She shook her head frantically, refusing to hear another negative, more uncertainty, another stab in her heart.

No.

Sasuke was alive.

"Where was the battle? I'll go there myself."

Kisame sighed, shaking his head negatively, no use contradicting her, Sakura was in denial. She would only believe it when she saw it with her own eyes, so he said where the place was.

In the next instant, Sakura was no longer standing in front of him. She ran into the room she used in the safe, went to the little furniture where she put her clothes away, tossing the drawers behind the things she needed.

She growled in rage, she yanked the drawer from the furniture and threw it to the floor, finally finding what she wanted and stuffing it into the small pockets of her belt.

"Sakura? Sakura, what the ...?!" Hidan appeared in the bedroom door, nervous with all the noise the girl was causing.

She didn't look at him, continued to rummage through her things, muttering indefinite things to him.

"Sakura!" He called her again when he saw that the kunoichi hadn't paid him any attention.

Still unattended by her, he approached with careful steps. He caught Sakura's lost look, unfocused, her hands shaking frantically as she searched for something.

Hidan suspected that Sakura was in shock and even she didn't know what she was looking for.

"He ... Dead ..." She shook her head, denying something that went through her head.

Hidan crouched down beside her, now truly worried about her mental state.

Sakura looked completely out of her mind.

"Pinky, you need to understand." He tried to pronounce the words as gently as possible. "Even if he's not dead, Sasori would hunt him down without resting to avenge Deidara."

He raised his hand, drawing her close to the girl, to try to comfort her, but when he was close to touching her, she let out a loud growl.

Hidan's eyes widened and he took a step back, pulling away from her as he saw Sakura's eyes glowing neon green, narrow as an animal ready to strike.

"He is alive." She said in a scowling voice, like a growl from the back of her throat. "And if Sasori or any of you, other than Itachi, lean on a single thread on him..." Kunoichi's hands began to glow, from her fingers her chakra framed like nails.

Hidan looked her up and down, horrified at her transformation.

"Hidan."

The nukenin looked back, found Itachi standing in the doorway.

The Sharingan user didn't look at his Akatsuki companion, but at the Konoha kunoichi who had now returned to his zombie state fidgeting the things thrown to the ground.

Knowing he could do nothing more for the girl, Hidan left the room.

Itachi approached the girl standing in front of her. Sakura still stirred her stuff, completely oblivious to the Uchiha's presence. He flexed his knees and wrapped the girl's face in both hands, forcing her to look at him.

Sakura's eyes widened at him. Recognizing Itachi's features, so much like his brother's, she relaxed her muscles.

He pushed one hand away from her face and offered it to the girl. Sakura understood and laid her hand over his. Itachi led her to the bed where they sat and he hugged her to the side.

"He can't be dead, he can't." She whispered desperately.

Itachi sighed as he squeezed her, pressing his cheek against the top of her head. He didn't say anything, he couldn't say anything. Sakura grabbed his robes, burying her face in the dark shirt and there she collapsed.

Sakura cried until her lungs and throats ached and when her tears dried, she continued sobbing, clinging desperately to Itachi.

He waited patiently, in silence until Sakura calmed down.

After a while, the sobs stopped and her breathing calmed, but the two didn't back away.

Another person would have thought the girl would have fallen asleep, but Itachi knew she was wide awake, could almost hear the cogs on her head.

Sakura moved away from him, her arms falling like dead weights from the sides of her body.

"I'll go after him." She said suddenly.

Itachi sighed closing his eyes.

"Sakura ..."

The girl looked at him incredulously.

"He didn't die, Itachi." She said painfully. "You should agree with me, you should support me."

He looked away at the floor.

"Do you think it pleases me to hear that my brother is dead?"

Sakura stood up.

"I refuse to believe he died." She looked him in the eye. "I refuse to believe that we abandon our village, our friends, our family." Itachi closed his eyes clearly felt by her words. "We abandoned everything and now he is ..." The sentence died on her lips, Sakura gulped dryly, averting her gaze for a moment at the floor. "I just can't." She concluded in a weak, broken voice.

Itachi took a deep breath and shrugged.

"You know I can't go with you." she nodded. "And you also know that if you went and got discovered, the others will regard it as treason." He said referring to the other Akatsuki members.

She nodded again, with confidence.

Akatsuki members might not have much connection between them, but they had enough to put Sasuke's name on their blacklist for what happen.

"I'll try to buy you some time, but I can't guarantee more than a few days."

"Say you had to keep me in a genjutsu because I was emotionally uncontrolled, Hidan will confirm."

Itachi narrowed his eyes, with the slight impression that Sakura was, at least a little, lucid when Hidan came to help her.

Sakura decided to leave in the middle of the night when she knew that Hidan would come out to do his prayers and also because she couldn't just leave Itachi like that.

She was sure Sasuke was alive, but she knew that Itachi wasn't yet relying on it and was suffering from the thought of his dead brother.

She did his last treatment session with him, didn't know how much time she would spend outside and wanted to leave him as good as she could then, she stayed the rest of the day in the Uchiha's room.

Like his brother, Itachi wasn't the type to demonstrate in words what he was feeling, however much he, on this question, far surpassed Sasuke. His way of demonstrating was by actions and small gestures.

She knew he liked to hear her talking about her memories with Sasuke from when they were on Team 7 because she could see how vacant his look was and a small proud smile on the corner of his lips. She knew he liked the dangos she made, liked to sit in the shade of a tree in the late afternoon when the sun wasn't so hot and the breeze was cool.

And for the little that knew him, she knew that Itachi needed her presence there for at least a few hours so she stayed nearby, welcomed him into her arms, offered her shoulder and her lap supported and then in the middle of the dawn, she left the hiding place of Akatsuki.

A black cloak protected her from the cold and hid the pink threads, she left in the sigh, leaving the older Uchiha behind.

He woke up when the sun was beginning to rise, seeing the side where she was sleeping empty, he knew that Sakura left without saying goodbye.

And then, as he watched the sky clear, he made a small prayer for the girl.


End file.
